Spark
by GaaLee-girl-13
Summary: It only takes a spark to start a fire. Can Lee's feelings really change Gaara's views? GaaLee AU Don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

Gaara yawned and glanced around his room. His eyes flashed to his cell phone as it buzzed loudly on the desk. He picked it up quickly to stop the noise before looking at the screen. New message from Lee.

_Hello, Gaara-kun! How are you?_

_Fine._

Lee gnawed at his lower lip. Gaara never said much. He seemed to prefer letting Lee ramble on about everything. Lee wanted to ask, but Gaara seemed like a fairly solitary person. He didn't even talk much when he first met Lee online. After a while, they exchanged numbers and began talking every night. It had been a while already.

_We have been talking for some time. I wish very much to meet you._

Lee waited and waited. Finally his phone buzzed with a reply.

_Fine. I'll be out at that old swing set out near the edge of the woods. Hurry up. I don't like waiting._

His breath caught in his throat. He was excited. Though he had to admit the message had seemed a little creepy.

_Alright._

Gaara shoved his phone back into his pocket and grabbed his knife, slipping it into his other pocket. His last message must have seemed weird, but he couldn't care less. He didn't want to deal with anyone he didn't have to. He walked to the front door only to be stopped by his sister, Temari. He sighed as she glared down at him, her dark green-blue eyes demanding an answer. The four blonde ponytails on the back of her head quivered along with the rest of her body.

"Where are you going? It's already late." She moved to stand in front of him. He slid his right hand into his pocket with the knife. His sister was so stubborn. Gaara could see his brother, Kankuro, peering around the corner from the hall and running one hand through his short brown hair.

"Out." His hand instinctively curled around the knife. "I've got my phone." Kankuro watched Gaara closely, his pitch-black eyes focused on the handle of the knife barely visible behind Gaara's hand.

"Temari, just let him go." He said, worry lacing his words. "Trust me, just move." Temari frowned and glanced between the boys before seeing Gaara gripping something in his pocket.

"Oh, uh, right." Her eyes widened as she quickly stepped out her little brothers' way. "See you later, Gaara." She said with a forced smile.

"Don't call unless it's important." Kankuro leaned against the wall, and Temari sighed as the door slammed behind Gaara.

"You know the rules here as well as I do." Kankuro said, raising his hands in a shrug of defeat. "Don't challenge Gaara. Don't make eye contact unless absolutely necessary. Don't talk to him if you can avoid it."

"But he's our little brother. It feels… wrong." She shook her head.

"Yes, it may feel wrong. It probably is wrong. But personally, I like the idea of living past the age of nineteen. He's threatened to kill us plenty of times. I don't want either of us to push him." Kankuro sighed. "He's usually got a knife with him. And that's only because we got rid of dads' old gun after Gaara-."

"I thought we weren't talking about that anymore, Kankuro!" Temari snapped.

"Ok, ok, fine. It won't be mentioned again. But you know as well as I do," Kankuro walked down the hall, "he loses it very easily."

Lee wandered around the area, stopping frequently to make sure he was in the right area. By now, he was sure he was lost. Not to mention it was raining steadily. He continued in one direction, muttering unhappily to himself. He stopped and fell silent. He could hear an odd creaking noise a little ways off. Maybe it was Gaara. Lee headed towards the sound until he saw a small clearing; the old swing set Gaara had mentioned. He paused as he watched the boy on the swing. That had to be him.

"H-hello." Lee greeted as he stepped into the clearing. He walked to the open swing next to the boy. "Are you Gaara-kun?" Lee asked as he sat down nervously.

"Yeah. You're Lee?" Gaara never looked at the boy.

"Yes, I am." Lee stared at Gaara for a while. The boy definitely seemed a bit strange. He had short, messy red hair that was soaked down by the rain and no eyebrows. His eyes seemed to be an odd mix of green and blue, reminding Lee of sea green paint. Gaara was small compared to Lee. Not only was he shorter by a few inches, but overall he just seemed frail. The rain was drenching his thin black clothes, causing them to cling to his small frame and make him seem even more fragile. But Lee knew better. Gaara could fight if needed. Gaara had been in trouble many times in his past school for injuring other students who were usually much bigger and older than him.

Lee looked at Gaara's eyes once more and almost laughed aloud. The skin around Gaara's eyes was nearly black, like he had drawn the circles on with eyeliner. It made his skin seem even paler. Then Lee remembered that Gaara had mentioned being a borderline insomniac while they were talking one night. The circles must have been caused by his lack of sleep, but Lee had no idea why they went all the way around his eyes instead of just under them. He could faintly make out a few red lines that may have been tattooed over Gaara's left eye, but his rain-soaked bangs covered most of it.

Gaara could feel Lee staring at him, and it was starting to annoy him. He swiveled his head to glance at Lee. Lee's eyes widened and he began staring at the ground, but Gaara could still make out most of his features. His hair looked like it was jet black and bowl-cut, or maybe it was just the rain. Either way it looked stupid. His eyes seemed as black as his hair. And his eyebrows… dear god, they were at least twice as big as any normal persons. There was a little dip in the middle of his upper lip, almost like a small "v". His skin wasn't pale, like Gaara's. He was tan, even a little darker than most people in town.

Gaara thought back to some of their past conversations. Lee stayed outside as often as possible and practiced martial arts with his father. These thoughts caused Gaara's eyes to wander, drifting down Lee's frame and studying his chest and arms. He seemed strong, but it wasn't obvious. He wasn't one of those big guys, the thugs in school who think they run the place. He actually wasn't that big at all. He seemed average in every way at first glance. A bit taller than most his age, but other than that he could have been anyone on the street. The only thing that made Lee seem stronger than others their age was what Gaara could see of his arms and where his shirt was plastered to his body. The muscles on his arms stood out more now than they usual would from him gripping the swing tightly and his wet shirt defined the muscle lines on his chest.

Lee took a deep breath and hid his embarrassment quickly before turning to look at Gaara again. He felt himself blush slightly, but ignored it and grinned broadly to the redhead. Gaara stared at him for a moment longer.

_"I can trust him." _A little voice in Gaara's head commented.

_"No!" _Gaara's mind screamed at the voice. _"I can't trust anyone!" _He clenched his eyes shut and shook his head, trying to rid himself of the voice. It was no use. Gaara could faintly hear it, still whispering to trust Lee. _"Not after what he did to me!"_

_ "But Yashamaru is dead now. YOU killed him, remember?"_

His eyes flashed open. Images rushed back. Words soon followed. The memory played like a movie in his mind. He felt the gun in his hands once again. He saw himself aiming at his uncles' head.

_"So, you think killing me will help? Why bother? No one loves you." Yashamaru smiled faintly. "You have nothing. Your father, brother, and sister hate you. After all, your mother died giving birth to you."His uncle sighed almost silently and Gaara could see his hands tremble less and less. "And all those times I said I loved you, Gaara? All of them were lies. And you believed them with every bit of your heart. But, what else could be expected from a six-year-old? I hate you for my sister's death. She died cursing this world. She never wanted you." Gaara's hands froze and Yashamaru laughed quietly. "What? Can't you pull the trigger? Are you too weak?"_

_ "I'll never be as weak as a bastard like you." Gaara whispered. His finger twitched, jerking the trigger. The sound of the gunshot cracked the silence like thunder in the black of night. His eyes stared blankly at the small hole in his uncles' forehead, and followed the crimson trails of blood down his face._

Gaara could feel Lee staring at him, but he couldn't care less. His heels dug into the soft ground, bringing the swing to a halt. "I can't…" Gaara whispered. "No, never… I won't…" He shook his head slowly. He gripped his hair tightly. His hands clenched into fists. His whole body began trembling. "No…" He muttered as he stared blankly at the ground.

Lee began to worry. There was something definitely wrong with Gaara right now. Lee stared helplessly as the redhead continued to mutter to himself.

"Um, Gaara-kun?" Lee started nervously. "Is everything alright?" He waited for Gaara to respond in some way, but got only silence. Lee stood up, ignoring the weight of the rain, and moved to stand in front of Gaara. When his presence went unacknowledged once more, he knelt down to eye level. Gaara's eyes were wide and blank, staring at the ground in front of him. "Gaara-kun?"

Slowly, his eyes came into focus and shifted to meet Lee's. The pain and loneliness Lee saw in Gaara's eyes tore his heart. No one should suffer through something like this, for whatever reason. Lee took a deep breath and hesitantly placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder. He saw Gaara's eyes shift down again. His body tensed beneath Lee's touch.

Gaara's eyes grew wide as he felt Lee's hand on his shoulder. All of his instincts screamed to pull away. They told him to put something between him and Lee. But something else told him to stay. He didn't know what to do. No one ever tried to comfort him. Not even his siblings had tried.

"Calm down, Gaara-kun." Lee whispered. His fingers brushed across Gaara's wrist. "Just calm down." His fingers slowly curled around Gaara's hand. "It is alright." Lee was unaware that he was holding Gaara's hand. After a few moments, Gaara began to relax, his body loosening up. His eyes wandered to Gaara's forehead. "Love?" He asked, recognizing the kanji tattooed above his left eye. He wanted to smack himself for such an obvious change of subject. Gaara took a deep breath before replying.

"Yeah, I got it when I turned sixteen." He wondered why Lee was holding his hand. "Why are you touching me?" Gaara growled, his eyes narrowing and his hand itching to grab his knife.

"Huh? Oh, sorry!" Lee's face flushed pink as he quickly sat in the other swing again. "Um, I-I just, uh…" Lee searched for the words to explain, but had no luck. "I-It is late. We really should head back into town." He said, quickly changing the subject once more. He slowly stood up, his clothes heavy from the rain that still pounded down upon them. Gaara watched him curiously as he stood up. Something was different about Lee, something more complex.

"Fine." Gaara muttered and began walking. He partially listened as Lee rambled on and on about his friends and foster dad, then some girl named Sakura.

"Sakura-chan is truly amazing," Lee's smile faded as he continued, "though I am fairly certain she hates my very existence. She left after high school for something but she never told us what it was. I think she is coming back for Christmas though." He shrugged. "Oh, is this your house?" Lee asked when Gaara suddenly stopped.

"Yeah." Gaara mumbled, pushing open the door. "I'm back." He called plainly.


	2. Chapter 2

"Where the hell have you been?" Temari shouted as she came down the hall. Kankuro sighed.

"He's eighteen, give him a break. Remember the rules?"

"He's still our little brother!" She yelled at Kankuro. She turned to glare at Gaara and noticed Lee still standing in the street. "Who's your friend over there?" Temari asked.

Gaara's eye twitched slightly at the sound of the word 'friend'. "That's Lee." He growled, not acknowledging Lee grinning and waving at his sister.

"Well why is he still standing in the rain?" Kankuro walked to the door and smiled at Lee. "Come on in, Lee-san." Lee smiled, laughing as he waved away the honorific.

"Please, just call me Lee. And I do not wish to be a burden. My house is just on the other side of town." Lee pointed down the street.

"That's like five miles!" Temari shook her head. "Just come in for a few and dry off. One of us will drive you home." She turned back into the house. "Have you eaten yet? I can reheat something for you."

"I am fine, thank you. You are all very kind." Lee smiled and walked just inside of the doorway, closing the door behind him.

"Catch!" Kankuro called from down the hallway. Lee turned his head to see Gaara catch a small towel. "Lee!" His head swiveled back in time for another towel to hit him square in the face. Gaara couldn't help it. He smirked and laughed quietly. Kankuro laughed as he watched Lee pull the towel off his face, looking embarrassed. "Sorry, Lee!"

"It is fine." Lee smiled. "I should have paid more attention." He quickly began drying his face, replaying the sound of Gaara's laughter in his head. It was soft, barely audible, and carried little emotion. But it seemed to fit Gaara and his personality. Quiet and almost emotionless.

"If you want," Temari shouted as she came up behind Kankuro, "you can borrow some of Gaara's clothes and dry yours." She ignored Gaara growling at her while he dried his hair. "They're so baggy on him they should fit you just fine."

"Um, thank you very much. Um, I am sorry. I did not catch your names." Lee glanced at them nervously.

"No problem. We're not used to guests." Kankuro shot a glance at Gaara. "I'm Kankuro and that's Temari." He said and pointed at his sister. "You already know Gaara." Gaara grumbled and shoved past his siblings. Lee nodded gratefully and followed him through the house to a staircase that entered into pitch-black nothingness. Lee waited cautiously at the top as Gaara quickly descended and was swallowed up by the darkness.

"Oh," Lee looked down the steep flight of stairs nervously, "your room is in the basement, Gaara-kun?"

"Uh huh." Gaara reluctantly turned on his bedroom light.

Lee jumped, realizing that Gaara was all the way down the hall in his room. Quickly he walked down the stairs and the hall they led to. "Wow, um…" His eyes slowly adjusted to the light. The walls were off white and all of the furniture was black. "Your room is very nice, Gaara." Gaara nodded silently as he dug through his dresser.

"Here," he growled, "wear these." Lee caught the shirt, pants, and boxers Gaara threw at him.

"Thank you. Where can I-?" Lee started and Gaara pointed to another door. "Okay."

Gaara sighed as the bathroom door shut behind Lee. "So weird." He shook his head, mumbling as he changed out of his wet clothes. He jumped slightly when he heard the door open again. Gaara soon relaxed, reminding himself that he already had new pants and an undershirt on.

"Oh, I-I…" Lee stood in the doorway stuttering and blushing. "I-I think I will go upstairs. Thank you." He nodded and quickly left the room.

_"What the hell was that all about? Why was he blushing? Eh, whatever. He's too weird to worry about." _Gaara shrugged it off as he gathered Lee's and his clothes, carrying them to the small laundry room next to the bottom of the stairs. He tossed the wet clothes into the dryer and began playing with the buttons, yawning as he finally got it started.

Lee stopped at the top of the stairs. His heart was racing and he couldn't get the image out of his head. Why had he been so embarrassed? It wasn't like he had walked in on Gaara naked. But his shirt… it was something he would have thought a girl might reluctantly wear. It was a short-sleeve shirt made of only black fishnet. That was all. Lee's eyes grew wide as his body quivered. He just needed to stop thinking about it.

_"Why am I getting so worked up over him? Maybe I-." _He thought but shook his head violently. _"No! There is no way!"_

He wandered into the living room after noticing Temari and Kankuro whispering back and forth on the couch. "H-Hello." Lee smiled.

Kankuro grinned. "Hey, Lee. Have a seat." He gestured at the chair across from him and his sister. Lee nodded thankfully and sat down. "So, how'd you meet our brother? I didn't think he really talked to anyone."

"I met him online in a little chat room some of my friends use after class. He never said much, but soon we began talking a bit. Gaara-kun was very… antisocial, I suppose. But," Lee smiled, "he seemed to warm up to me fairly quickly." Kankuro watched Lee curiously as he explained.

"What do you mean by quickly? A few days? A couple weeks?" Kankuro asked.

"About four months." Kankuro sighed and ran his hand through his hair, a smile tugging at his lips.

_"For Gaara, that's like the speed of light."_ Kankuro thought. _"I never thought he'd actually talk to someone, even if it took that long. He hardly talks to me or Temari and we're related to him. I should have realized something was up when he started hiding in his room more often than usual and when he never left his phone behind if he left the house."_

Temari shrugged. "Why doesn't that surprise me? Gaara practically lives on his computer. If he's not on that, he's out somewhere around the old parks." She glanced at Lee, noting his enthusiasm and overall happiness. She held back a laugh. Gaara had met his polar opposite.

"You mentioned a class? What kind of class?" Kankuro asked.

"I take classes at a dojo my father and a friend of his run." Lee glanced at the floor as the sound of music reached his ears.

"Jesus…" Temari rolled her eyes. "Why does he turn his music up so loud? It drives me insane." Kankuro sighed. Temari stomped one foot on the floor a few times. "Turn it down, god dammit!" She hollered. They fell silent for a moment, but the volume didn't change. "That little punk." She growled, standing up. "I'm gonna-." She stopped as Lee stood up.

"My apologies, Temari-san. I know he is your brother, but I think I know what happened." He paused as the siblings watched him curiously. "Just give me a moment, please." He bowed politely to them. Temari sat down slowly as Lee headed for the basement once more. She looked at Kankuro.

"How'd our psycho little brother find a kid like that?" She asked.

"I don't know, but I get the feeling this could get interesting." Kankuro replied, looking down the hall from the couch. "Lee seems like a good kid. Maybe he can turn Gaara around."

"We can hope so." Temari sighed.

Lee cautiously pushed the door to Gaara's room open. The music was deafening as Lee entered the room. Lee smiled and shook his head slightly. He was right. Gaara was curled up on his bed asleep, his black clothes blending into the sheets. Lee turned the volume down enough that Temari and Kankuro wouldn't be able to hear it and walked back upstairs.

"Hey, your back." Kankuro motioned for Lee to sit once again. "So what happened?"

"Gaara-kun was asleep so I turned the volume down." The siblings' jaws dropped. "Um, is something wrong?"

"W-Well, uh, Gaara almost never sleeps." Kankuro said, startled.

"Yeah." Temari joined in. "It's not so much that he can't sleep though. I think he just doesn't like to sleep." She shrugged. "I don't get it. He goes for weeks without sleeping, and then when he finally crashes, it's only for a few hours at most. Somehow he just keeps going."

"I see." Lee vaguely recalled Gaara mentioning that he didn't sleep much. "Oh," he heard a small beep, "I think I heard the dryer."

"Alright. I'll start the car while you change." Kankuro stood up and stretched. "Just leave those clothes on the floor in Gaara's room. He can deal with them later."

Lee nodded and once again descended the dark stairs. He mumbled to himself as he picked his way through the laundry room. After quickly changing, he carried Gaara's clothes back into his room. Out of habit, he folded them neatly and placed them on the corner of the bed. Lee jogged up the stairs.

"The car's out front. You ready?" Kankuro smiled.

"Yes, I am. Thank you all very much." Lee bowed gratefully to the siblings and followed Kankuro outside. The ground was drenched, but it had stopped raining. He climbed into the passenger's seat. "Thank you very much, Kankuro-san."

"Don't sweat it. It's good to know Gaara actually has a friend." Kankuro replied as he started to drive. "Which way?"  
>"Oh, just go straight until it dead ends, then go left." Lee relaxed a little. It had been strange sitting in Gaara's house for even that short time. But his siblings were incredibly kind, though Lee was practically a stranger. "There is something about your brother that I…" Lee paused, unsure of how he should continue. "Well, I am not entirely sure."<p>

"Well when you figure it out, let me know." Kankuro laughed. "Oh, and can you do me a favor?"

Lee glanced at Kankuro curiously. "Sure, what do you need?"

"Well I work at the theater whenever I can and my sister works at some little restaurant, so we're never home much. Even when we get some time home, Gaara usually hides in his room." He sighed heavily. "Do you think you could introduce him to some of your friends? Maybe just, well, take him around town? I don't really know, but he needs to get out more." Kankuro glanced at Lee nervously.

"Um…" Lee finally responded. "I would be honored to!" He grinned.

"Thanks a ton, Lee." Kankuro let out a little sigh of relief. He jumped as his phone began buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out and handed it to Lee as he made a left at the end of the street. "Just read it for me please."

"Let me see… Oh it is from Gaara-kun. It says, 'Have you dropped Lee off yet?'"

"Tell him yes." Lee looked confused. "Trust me it'll be easier that way."

"Alright. Uh, turn right here." Lee responded to Gaara as Kankuro nodded. Silence settled. Soon again Kankuro's phone buzzed, but this time it was a call.

"Damn it." Kankuro took the phone from Lee and put it on speaker before dropping it in his lap. "Hello?"

"Hey." Gaara muttered through the phone speakers. "I… I need to talk to you." Lee kept quiet, remembering he was supposed to be gone.

"Uh, sure, what did you want to talk about?" Kankuro looked puzzled.

"Lee." Gaara said plainly.

"Well, you know him better that me, but I'll try to help."

"He was stuttering and blushing a lot while he was with me." Lee looked out the window. "It felt… strange." Kankuro seemed to forget Lee was sitting right next to him.

"Maybe he likes you." He shrugged. Lee's head whipped around, his face scarlet. "I don't know. Ask your sister, she's better with this kind of thing." Gaara grumbled something and hung up. Kankuro glanced at Lee. "So," he smiled slightly, "you mentioned there was something about Gaara. I think you know what it is, so why don't you tell me?"

"W-Well, I still am not sure." Lee stared at his hands in his lap. "I thought maybe… I liked your brother… but I am positive I was only nervous about being in your house." Kankuro tried not to laugh, but failed horribly. Lee looked at him, even more embarrassed. "W-What is so funny?"

"Oh, nothing." He said, still laughing. "You just come off as a bit, oh I don't know, different." Kankuro pulled over when Lee pointed at his house. "See you later, Lee!" He called as Lee stepped out of the car.

"Yes, see you later. Thank you for everything, Kankuro-san!" Lee waved and entered his house.


	3. Chapter 3

Gaara drug his feet as he walked up the stairs to go talk to Temari. He hated talking to his siblings, but he wanted to know what was going on. "Temari, I need to ask you something!" He shouted, walking into the living room. His sister was already sitting on the couch. Gaara reluctantly stood just inside the living room. "How do people usually act around someone they… like?" Gaara asked, thinking about Lee's odd behavior.

"Well," Temari eyed her brother curiously, "sometimes they'll stutter or blush. Usually they just act nervous. Why the sudden interest?" Gaara shook his head and retreated to the basement. He had an answer. That was all he was looking for.

What he had felt earlier around Lee, there was no way. He loved only himself, hence the tattoo on his forehead. Gaara had vowed to keep hatred and distrust towards everybody after what Yashamaru had done to him. If he cared for anyone it would only be easier for them to hurt him. Maybe he was getting sick. And as for Lee… He was just weird. Gaara nodded slightly as he lie down on his bed, pushing the thoughts out of his mind.

Gaara stayed in his room until the next night, making only quick trips for food. He glanced at the clock. Four-thirty. That meant nearly an entire day spent staring at the ceiling.

"Come on, Gaara, let's go!" Kankuro shouted, pounding his fist on the bedroom door. Gaara grumbled and shoved the door open violently. "Get in the car!" His brother began walking back towards the stairs.

"Why?" Gaara asked evenly, not moving.

"Just get in the damn car. You'll see when we get there." Kankuro yelled from the top of the staircase. Gaara reluctantly followed and climbed into the passenger's seat. His gaze fell on random things out the window, and then focused on the building his brother parked in front of.

"A dojo?" Gaara muttered.

"We're a little early," Kankuro stepped out of the car, "but you can talk to the teacher." Gaara looked slightly confused. "You might be taking classes here. And don't even think about arguing. The teacher said he'd love to have someone try out tonight. We'll sign you up if you can keep up with the class. And that doesn't mean you can fake it."

Gaara mumbled unhappily and followed his brother inside the dojo. No sooner than the door shut behind him, he heard a slightly familiar voice.

"Alright, we have a little time before class starts! Who wants to practice some sparring?" The voice called energetically. It couldn't really be him, could it?

"No way, I'm not gonna spar with you! You kicked my butt last time, Bushy Brow!" Another boy said franticly. "You've even beaten Kakashi-sensei! Only Guy-sensei can still beat you! There's no way any of us will take you on!"

"Aren't we getting a new student?" Someone else asked. "Spar with him when he shows up. Show him what we've got to put up with."

"Okay then, as soon as he arrives I shall challenge him! It should be fun!"

Gaara moved away from the door enough to see onto the mats. There weren't many people, and everyone simply wore their street clothes. The few adults were discussing something with the teacher, but on the closer side of the mats was a small group of boys Gaara's age.

The boy farthest from him was blonde with whisker-like scars on his cheeks. He was complaining to another boy with short jet-black hair, who kept shrugging him off. The third boy had short spiky brown hair, and his eyes looked like animal eyes. The last unfamiliar face had a short black ponytail and looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. Gaara couldn't mistake the last boy, even from behind. That stupid haircut gave him away.

The blonde suddenly noticed Gaara looking at them. "Hey, Bushy Brow! I think that's the new student!" He shouted as he pointed at Gaara. The boy with black hair punched the blonde in the arm.

"Stop yelling, you idiot!" He hissed. "Lee, I think he might be right though." Lee spun around to see who the new student was.

"Oh, Gaara-kun!" He walked to the edge of the mats and grinned. "So you are the new student? What a surprise!"

The other boys wandered forward to stand next to Lee. "You know this guy?" The boy with the ponytail asked lazily.

"Yes!" Lee nodded. "This is my friend, Gaara-kun." Gaara's eye twitched.

"Hey, Bushy Brow!" The blonde grinned from ear to ear. "Weren't you gonna spar with the new kid?"

"Oh, uh," he glanced at all of the boys in turn, "I, um… Yes I was." He looked back at Gaara. "Would you like to spar for a moment, Gaara-kun?" Gaara was small compared to Lee, but about the same size as the other boys. Lee knew Gaara could fight, but wasn't sure just how strong he was. Gaara seemed so frail.

Gaara shrugged and sat down, pulling his shoes and socks off. He was forced to admit to himself that he was a bit nervous as he stepped onto the mats. One of the first things he had learned about Lee was that he was dedicated to a fault. He trained every day until he dropped. "I guess it can't hurt." The blonde snickered until the others punched his arms simultaneously.

"Alright, let us begin." Lee tried to remember the last time he sparred with someone other than Guy-sensei. He didn't want to hurt Gaara, so he would have to be careful. The thought quickly escaped his mind when Gaara swung at him. Lee instinctively grabbed Gaara's wrist and used the momentum to throw him over his shoulder. Gaara hit the ground and threw his hands quickly up over his head, grabbing Lee's ankles. Lee yelped slightly as Gaara jerked his feet out from under him. He fell to the ground, but before he had time to react, Gaara pulled him into an arm bar.

"No way! New kid beat Bushy Brow in no time! Didn't even have to fight really!" The blonde laughed uncontrollably. "What's up with that? Bushy Brow, you're losing it!" Gaara let go of Lee and quickly stood up. Lee went easy on him; that was obvious. Gaara knew that Lee could have beaten him senseless if he'd wanted to. But Lee wouldn't do that to anyone unless it was to protect someone dear to him.

Lee jumped up, his face hot with embarrassment. Perhaps he had gone too easy on Gaara. He hadn't expected to get his feet yanked out from under him. He saw Gaara staring blankly at him as one of the teachers walked up.

"Getting sloppy there, Lee." The man shook his head and smiled. Gaara sighed. That must be Lee's foster dad, but Gaara would've thought they were actually related. They had the same dumb hair cut and same eyebrows.

"Yes, I underestimated him."

"Hm, big mistake. Looks like you'll be doing some extra training, won't you?"

"Of course, sir!" Lee looked excited about the idea. Gaara wondered if he would ever understand him.

"So, you must be Gaara-san!" The man fixed his gaze on Gaara. "I've heard a bit about you from your brother." Gaara grumbled slightly but it went unnoticed. "We've got a few announcements then we'll start class. You can either watch or join in."

"I'll watch." Gaara said quietly.

"Alright then." He turned to the rest of the class. "Line up!" He shouted and walked to the front with the other teacher. Everyone quickly lined up, waiting for the announcements. "Kakashi and I have some news." Lee's dad nodded to the man next to him. He had silvery hair and the lower half of his face was hidden beneath a black mask.

"I won't be here for a few months. I've got some important business to attend to. So I'm leaving the dojo under Guy's care. Nothing else will be changing. Now let's get started." The two teachers started class and soon Kakashi wandered over to Gaara. "You look like you really don't want to be here." He commented as he sat down. "Your name is Gaara-san, correct?" Gaara nodded. "I heard your brother may be signing you up, but you don't seem to like being around others."

"No, I don't." Gaara growled, his gaze shifting around the room.

"Hm, I'll see what I can do then." Kakashi said. He stepped back onto the mats and motioned to Guy. The two men talked for a moment, occasionally casting glances at Gaara. Kakashi walked back over to Gaara and sat down again. "Since you don't have a choice about taking class tonight, you'll be in a one-on-one class of sorts later once everyone leaves. Lee will act as your teacher for the time being."

Gaara's eye twitched a few times. Lee was going to be his teacher. Great, that meant a whole class with someone who seems to have trouble stringing a full sentence together around him. Gaara nodded to Kakashi and tried to focus of the class. Maybe taking a one on one class with Lee would have some benefits. He might be able to figure out why Lee acted strange around him. His mind started to drift off, mostly wondering about Lee.

Kankuro shook him by his shoulder. "Listen, I have to get to the theater. We just got some new stuff we need to deal with." He walked to the edge of the mats and called Guy over. The two talked for a moment, and then Kankuro bowed gratefully. "Okay, that's all settled. You're going to Lee's house after class. I'll pick you up when I'm done." Gaara opened his mouth to protest, but Kankuro was already out the door.

Lee was helping with the other students until Guy pulled him aside. "Lee I've got some news." He said. "You'll be training one student after class tonight."

"Really?" Lee asked, his eyes lighting up. "Who?"

"You will be training Gaara." Lee's heart skipped a beat and he glanced at the clock. This was usually the last class of the day and it would be ending in just a little bit.

"Alright!" Lee nodded happily and went back to training with the others.

"Line up!" Kakashi called to the class. Gaara came back to reality as the class ended; pushing away the odd thoughts his mind had conjured. He slowly stood up as people began to leave and waited silently. Soon, Lee and the other boys were standing near him.

"We weren't properly introduced." The boy with black hair commented. "My name is Sasuke." He held out his hand and Gaara reluctantly shook it.

"I'm Naruto!" The blonde said, grinning broadly. Gaara wondered if there was something wrong with him.

"I'm Kiba." The one with short brown hair smiled, exposing the fact that his left canine tooth looked more like a fang.

"My name's Shikamaru." The boy with the ponytail said lazily. "So you're Gaara-san?" Gaara nodded slightly. "Ok, introductions are over. I'm out of here." He walked towards the door.

"Hey! You're giving us rides, remember?" Naruto called. He grabbed Sasuke's hand and pulled him outside after Shikamaru. Kiba sighed and followed them, waving slightly as the door shut behind him.

Gaara stepped back onto the mats. Six-o'clock already. Lee shifted back and forth nervously until he saw Guy. They talked for a moment before Lee nodded and Guy left, following Kakashi and chatting idly.

"Alright," Lee began stretching, "since this is not officially a class, we will just start now. Shall we just go over the basics tonight?" Gaara nodded, hoping it would just be over soon.

Lee wasn't used to training someone. Over the course of an hour, he hadn't let Gaara stop. Finally it caught up to him. Gaara's legs gave up and he collapsed on the mats, shaking.

"Oh, Gaara-kun!" Lee knelt down beside him. "Are you alright?"

"N-no…" He hissed. "I can't feel my legs…" He winced as he tried to push himself to his feet. "Wait, I can feel them. They hurt like hell…" Gaara sat back down and clenched his eyes shut, trying to block out the pain. He felt something brush the back of his hand, and then felt Lee's fingers curling around his. "What are you doing?" He growled.

"I am taking you home. I am sorry I made you keep training." Lee apologized, pulling Gaara's arm over his shoulders and holding his wrist. He placed his other hand on Gaara's waist. "Ok, now try to stand up with me." Gaara slowly stood up, leaning heavily on Lee. It still hurt but not as bad. He winced again. Lee glanced at him nervously and began walking towards the door. "Here, just slip your shoes back on." He lowered Gaara into one of the chairs and handed him his socks and shoes. Lee pulled his own socks and shoes on and turned the dojo light off. "Ready?"

Gaara nodded silently and let Lee pull him up again. They walked outside and Lee quickly locked the door. Gaara glanced around wearily. It was hard to keep his eyes open. The street lights seemed brighter than usual and they hurt his eyes. Plus, he was tired, though he had slept just a day or two before. Finally he gave up; sleep overtook him like a black curtain over a stage. His body slumped against Lee's shoulder.

"Gaara-kun?" Lee stopped walking. "Gaara-kun are you…" He paused, listening to the evenness in his breathing. "He is asleep." He muttered to himself. "Well, if he is asleep," he stepped in front of Gaara, "he will not care if I simply carry him." He let Gaara's arms fall over his shoulders and lifted him onto his back. This would be much easier. Lee let out a little sigh and began walking again.

Gaara blinked a few times. It was like he was walking, but his legs weren't moving. At last, it dawned on him. Lee was carrying him, but he was too tired to argue. He buried his face in Lee's hair and took a few deep breaths. The little voice in his head whispered one thing before Gaara fell asleep once more.

_"I can trust him…"_


	4. Chapter 4

Lee knocked on the front door of his house and waited for Guy to answer.

"Well, hello! How are y-?" Guy stopped midsentence when he noticed Gaara asleep on Lee's back. "Um, what…?" Lee stepped inside.

"I will explain in just a moment. Let me set him down first, please." Guy nodded as Lee walked into the living room and laid Gaara down on the couch. Lee blushed slightly and watched Gaara for a moment longer until Guy entered the room. He moved Gaara's feet and sat down on the couch as his father pulled a chair in front of him to sit in.

"So what happened?" Guy asked, his gaze jumping between his son and his strange friend asleep on the couch. Lee quickly explained what happened at the dojo and that Gaara had fallen asleep just a few moments after they started walking home. Guy nodded slightly and glanced at the clock.

"His brother said he would pick him up after he was done at the theater. Why don't you call him and tell him what happened?" Lee nodded swiftly and stepped out of the room, fumbling with his phone. Guy let out a long sigh. Something felt different about Lee. He wasn't surprised that he had managed to befriend someone like Gaara; everyone seemed to get along with Lee pretty well. He had a way of always being there, even if you didn't want him to. But that seemed to make everyone like him more. He was loyal and trustworthy.

What made Guy wonder was how Lee acted when Gaara's name was brought up. He started stuttering a lot and sometimes he even blushed. He talked about Gaara more than anyone else, including Sakura. Guy stopped and thought for a moment. There was definitely a chance that Lee might not be straight. Guy shrugged the thought off. He didn't care either way. If Lee found someone he really loved, even someone like Gaara, he would be happy.

"Um, Guy?" Lee glanced in the room. "Kankuro-san would like to speak with you for a moment." He handed the cell phone to his father and Guy walked into the kitchen to talk with Kankuro. Lee watched Gaara as he lay asleep on the couch before sitting back down. He took a deep breath as his pulse quickened. Why did his heart always beat faster around Gaara? He didn't even have to do anything, just looking at Gaara made him feel funny.

Finally Lee put the pieces together. Whenever he was around Gaara he stuttered, blushed, rambled on about pointless things, and stared at him. His heart beat faster just by looking at Gaara. Maybe he had been right before. Maybe he liked Gaara as more than just a good friend. It made quite a bit of sense. Lee stood up and walked upstairs to his room. He needed to think this over for a few.

Gaara mumbled and blinked a few times. Where was he? How did he get here? How long had he slept? He raised his head to look around a bit. He didn't recognize the house. Then he remembered training earlier, falling asleep, Lee carrying him home. This must be Lee's house. Well that answered two questions. Gaara pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and looked at the time. Seven forty-five, so he hadn't been asleep long. The room was empty except for the furniture and Gaara. He sat up quickly and looked around again. He could hear a voice, but it didn't sound like Lee's hyper tone.

"Alright, I'll just have Lee take him home." The voice said. "No don't worry; Lee is more than capable of something like this. He can walk back after." Gaara finally recognized the voice as Guy's. "Don't worry Kankuro-san, they'll be fine."

Gaara thought about what he just heard. Kankuro must be pulling an all-nighter at the theater again and Lee was walking him home. Maybe he could ask Lee why he was acting so strange around him.

"Oh, Gaara-san, you're awake." Guy smiled as he walked towards the stairs. I'm going to talk to Lee for a minute then he'll walk you home, alright?"

"Ok." Gaara nodded, watching Guy walk upstairs.

Lee stared blankly at the computer screen, only half listening to the song. He was still thinking about his feelings towards Gaara when his dad knocked on the door frame. "Oh, Guy…" Lee stared at the floor for a moment. "There was something I… I need to ask you about." He felt slightly embarrassed but quickly pushed the feeling away as he sat on the edge of his bed. Guy would never judge him for something like this. Lee knew that. Guy sat down next to him.

"What is it, Lee?" He asked softly. Lee usually wasn't nervous like this.

"I think, um…" Lee stared at the floor again. "I think I may like Gaara-kun… As more than a friend…" Lee's face was tinged pink. "I have never felt this strongly for anyone, even Sakura-chan. I think… I might be in love with him… Is that… normal?" He looked up, making eye contact with his dad. Guy looked at him thoughtfully then smiled.

"It doesn't matter if it's normal or not. No one has the right to judge you for anything like this." Guy laid his hand on Lee's shoulder. "If you think its love, then let it be. I'll always be here to support you in whatever you decide. But I think you should tell him how you feel." Lee nodded and Guy handed him his cell phone. "Kankuro-san is staying at the theater all night so I told him you would walk Gaara-san home. Tell him then, alright Lee?"

"Yes, sir!" Lee smiled and stood up with Guy. By just knowing that Guy supported him made him feel so much more confident. He followed his father downstairs and into the living room. Lee felt himself blush slightly as Gaara eyed him curiously and quickly looked away. Taking a deep breath he looked at Gaara once more. "Are you ready, Gaara-kun?" Gaara nodded and stood up, walking towards Lee. He paused and bowed slightly to Guy who bowed in return before following Lee to the front door. "I will be back in just a little while, Guy!" He waved and stepped outside with Gaara.

Both boys were silent for the first few blocks. Gaara was grumbling slightly at the idea of a five mile walk. Lee was chewing on his lower lip, trying to figure out a way to tell Gaara how he felt.

"Lee?" Gaara asked quietly. "Why do you start acting weird around me?" Lee sighed slightly.

"Well, to be honest, I think I may be in love with you, Gaara-kun." Lee forced himself to keep looking forward, aware that Gaara was watching him closely. Suddenly Gaara stopped walking, one hand gripping the fabric of his shirt over his heart.

"No… You can't…" He muttered. Lee looked back at him, confused. Gaara shook his head slowly, his eyes wide. "You can't… It's not true…" He looked up at Lee. "You're lying… You have to be…" Lee stepped back into the light of the streetlight above them, standing in front of Gaara. "Tell me you were lying…"

"I am not lying, Gaara-kun. I would never lie, especially about something like this." Lee said quietly.

"No, it's not true… You have to be lying… You can't love me… No one loves me…" Gaara spoke franticly. He clenched his eyes shut and shook his head violently. Gaara froze as Lee wrapped his arms around him.

"Gaara-kun, just calm down…" Lee whispered. "Please calm down… Just breathe…" Lee could feel Gaara's whole body shaking as they stood there. "Relax, Gaara-kun… It is alright…" Gaara gripped the front of Lee's shirt and pressed his face against his shoulder. Lee's voice calmed him slightly. Lee pulled Gaara closer for a moment then let go, but Gaara still clung to his shirt. "Let us get you home, Gaara-kun." Lee gently pulled Gaara off of him. Gaara nodded slightly. Lee took him by the hand and smiled gently. "Come on." Gaara stared at Lee as they began walking.

_"How did you do it, Lee?"_Gaara wondered as he gripped Lee's hand. _"How did you make me need you so much by hardly doing anything?"_


	5. Chapter 5

"Just a minute!" Temari called as she heard a knock on the door. "Hello!" She smiled, opening the door. Her jaw dropped slightly when she saw Lee smiling back at her and holding her brothers' hand. Gaara was twitching and gripping Lee's hand tightly, like a little kid. She stared at Lee for a moment then gestured for them to come in. She sat down in the living room chair, watching Lee gently push Gaara towards the couch. Gaara sat down slowly, staring blankly at the floor. Lee tried to pull his hand away, but Gaara simply gripped it tighter. Lee winced slightly and sat down beside him. "Um, what…?" Temari started as she stared at her brother and Lee.

Lee reluctantly explained how he had told Gaara about his feelings, how Gaara had started to sort of freak out, and then Lee finally getting him home. Temari nodded slowly as she listened to him, still watching Gaara. Her little brother hated physical contact with anyone; even just shaking hands with someone was like torture to him. And here he was, gripping Lee's hand and refusing to let go. She looked at Lee. Something about him had changed Gaara completely.

"I really should be going." Lee tried to pull his hand away from Gaara again with the same results. His hand was slowly going numb.

"Wait, you're walking home?" Temari asked as she glanced at the clock. It was almost ten o'clock. She shook her head. "Why don't you just spend the night here? It's late and I don't think you're getting your hand back any time soon." She said, looking at her brother. He finally glanced up at her, his eyes still unfocused.

"Yes, you are probably right." Lee nodded. "But I told Guy I would be home as soon as possible." He made a few more attempts at getting Gaara to release his hand.

"Just call him and let him know. You're more than welcome to stay if you don't mind sleeping on the couch downstairs. If you want I'll even talk to him and let him know what happened." She gestured to Lee's hand which now looked slightly purple.

"Oh, alright, thank you very much Temari-san." Lee pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Guys' number before handing it to Temari.

"Hello." Temari leaned back in the chair when Guy answered. "Yes, I'm Gaara's sister, Temari." She motioned for Lee to leave the room for a moment. He stood up, making one last try at prying his hand away from Gaara. After that failed he simply pulled Gaara out of the room with him.

Lee sighed and leaned against the wall in the hallway, closing his eyes. After a few moments he felt the pressure on his hand lessen but he kept his eyes shut. Soon he felt pressure on his other hand as well. What was Gaara doing? Lee wanted to know so badly but he forced himself to remain calm and keep his eyes shut. His hands were pinned to the wall behind him and he felt Gaara's body lean against him slightly.

"Gaara-kun?" Lee asked, opening his eyes. He blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't imagining things. Gaara was standing on the tips of his toes to be at eye level with Lee, their faces only a few inches apart. Lee felt himself blush slightly as Gaara stared into his eyes.

"How did you do it?" Gaara whispered. "What kind of trick did you use?"

"W-what are you talking about, Gaara-kun?" Lee asked nervously.

"What have you done to me? Why can't I just ignore you like everyone else?" Gaara leaned back slightly and studied Lee's whole body. "What makes you different?" Lee blushed harder. "What did you do to make me need you so much?" He whispered.

"I have done nothing to you, Gaara-kun." Lee looked away. "But…" Gaara's eyes narrowed.

"What?" He growled slightly, gripping Lee's wrists tightly. Lee was silent. Gaara continued to tighten his grip. Lee winced, feeling Gaara's nails dig into his skin. Soon he could feel his hands slowly numbing. "Answer me, Lee." Gaara hissed.

"No." Lee stared at him defiantly, a slight hitch in his voice from the pain as Gaara's grip tightened further. He forced himself to not flinch, to not look away. Suddenly, Gaara let go and walked off down the hall towards the stairs. Lee watched him silently descend into the basement before looking down at his hands. He could hardly feel his fingers anymore and slight bruises were forming on his wrists. He could still hear Gaara demanding an answer in his head.

"I have done nothing to you," he whispered, "but I hope you will let me love you." He remembered how close their faces had been. It would have been so easy to just… Lee quickly pushed the thoughts away.

"Lee!" Temari called. "Come here and get your phone." He cast a final glance at his hands and reluctantly returned to the living room. "Here y-." Temari froze when she saw the bruises on Lee's hands. "What the hell happened?"

"Huh? Oh, it is nothing!" Lee smiled and shrugged.

"That's a load of crap. Let me see your hands."

"No, really, I will be fine!" Lee held his hands behind his back. Temari glared at him.

"Did I give you an option?" She demanded. "Now come on, let me see."

Gaara sighed before entering his bedroom. He sat down in the chair in front of his desk and glanced around. Lee was stubborn, maybe even more stubborn than Gaara. He rummaged through the cabinets on his desk for a moment. Soon he had an old sketch book and some pencils in front of him. What had Lee been about to say? Gaara began sketching something, but not really caring what it would turn out to be. His mind drifted off, still thinking about Lee. Slowly, a picture began to form on the page, but Gaara made no effort to actually see what it was. He could hear footsteps above him. Temari probably already saw what Gaara had done, which meant he was in for it later. He couldn't care less. Gaara had gotten used to his sisters' rants and scolding's over the years.

Temari had forced Lee to tell her exactly what had happened while she was on the phone with Guy. He sighed slightly, thinking back to the little incident. Maybe he should have told Gaara. This could have been avoided. But then again, what other problems would that have caused?

"Guy said that it would be fine if you stayed. I think the couch downstairs actually folds out into a bed." Temari shrugged slightly and motioned for Lee to follow her downstairs. "We haven't had guests in a long time, so I don't remember." She flipped the lights on in the spare room near Gaara's. It looked more like a second living room. Lee glanced around, his eyes drifting to Gaara's bedroom door. It was cracked open slightly and a small sliver of light shone through onto the wall and floor.

"Thank you very much, Temari-san." Lee smiled as he helped her fold out the bed.

"No problem." She threw a few blankets and pillows she found back onto the bed. "It's a pleasure to have you over. After all, you seem to be able to get through Gaara's little shell." Lee looked at her curiously. "He's pretty anti social, so the fact that he's this close to you is impressive. Even after, uh… that." She gestured to Lee's wrists. "He's even talked about you once or twice. There's something special about you, Lee." She said, smiling. "And knowing how you feel towards him," Lee blushed slightly, "I hope it all works out for you two. Gaara needs someone like you in his life. Just give him some time, ok?"

"Of course." Lee smiled, looking at Gaara's door again. "Thank you for everything."

"Don't sweat it, Lee. If you need anything, just holler." Temari waved slightly and walked upstairs again.

Lee yawned and pulled his shoes off before lying down. It was only a few minutes before he quickly succumbed to sleep, unaware of the figure that soon sat beside him.

Lee blinked a few times. The room was dim and silent except for the sound of breathing coming from him and the person next to him. Lee froze, thinking to himself, _"What person next to me? I don't remember…" _He turned his head slowly to look to his left. Even in the dim light, the red hair was obvious.

"Gah!" Lee fell off the edge of the bed in his effort to move away from the figure. Gaara smirked and laughed quietly. Lee really was an idiot sometimes. "Ow…" Gaara glanced in Lee's direction when he heard the feeble complaint. Lee stood up, his neck aching from landing on it. He sat down on the edge of the bed. He had heard Gaara laugh before, but it was an uncommon event. He had to admit he enjoyed hearing it, though having to be injured to hear it wasn't something to look forward to. Lee felt himself blush slightly as he felt Gaara watching him curiously.

"How long have you been sitting there, Gaara-kun?" Lee asked nervously, fidgeting with the edge of the blankets.

"Since you fell asleep." Gaara had pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on them. Lee's head whipped around to look at him.

"R-really?" Lee felt his face grow warmer as he blushed harder. "May I ask why?" Lee swung his feet back up onto the bed. Gaara made no move to look at him. He just shrugged.

"I don't know really." Gaara's eyes seemed unfocused and hazy. "I just did, so there." Lee stared at Gaara for a moment. He had no reason. Lee felt his pulse quicken. Gaara glanced out of the corner of his eye. Lee was staring at him again, but this time he wasn't annoyed. Lee nodded slightly, unsure of what to say now. Lee thought to himself, _"That is just it; there is nothing to say now."_

"Well, um, I will be going back to sleep if you do not mind." Lee said nervously. He lied down on his back, still looking at Gaara out of the corner of his eye. Gaara just nodded slowly. Lee closed his eyes, listening to the sound of Gaara's breathing, and slowly slipped back into the clutches of sleep.

Gaara glanced at Lee when he heard the sound of his breathing even out. What had Lee done to him? Gaara wanted to leave, to go sit in his room and just stare at the walls or something. But he couldn't. He was stuck here at Lee's side like some helpless animal. Even if Lee didn't know it, he had Gaara chained to him in some way. Gaara wanted desperately to know what way that was. He wanted to make it disappear.

But if he didn't know what it was, he couldn't get rid of it. It felt like he couldn't leave Lee because that would cause him too much grief. It would be like Yashamaru all over again. So the only other option right now was to keep Lee closer and make sure he wouldn't, or couldn't, leave him. Gaara needed to make Lee stay with him, just to save himself. It made Gaara sick for a moment, feeling this desperate. But there were no other options yet. He looked at Lee again.

"You bastard." He whispered. "You have no idea how much I hate you right now." Gaara rested his chin on his knees again. He could feel his eyelids growing heavy. Why was he so tired? Maybe he hadn't fully recovered from the lack of sleep last time. Oh well. He looked at his bedroom door, debating whether or not he wanted to walk that far. His mind said that would be a better idea, but Gaara didn't care.

He lied back on the bed, remembering the picture he had drawn earlier. For some reason, he had drawn two people. One had short, messy hair, and the other had short hair that looked like it was slicked down. Neither had faces yet, but one person had an arm around the other's shoulders. Gaara frowned slightly before giving in to his fatigue and falling asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Temari yawned and stretched before dragging herself into the kitchen. It was six o'clock as she finally poured a cup of tea and sat down at the kitchen table. It was quiet. To quiet for this house. Gaara usually had his music on or some sort of noise. Temari glanced around before standing back up to walk downstairs. Maybe Gaara was asleep or something. That was an odd thought. She reached the bottom of the stairs and glanced into the spare room.

"What the…?" Temari stared for a moment at the scene before her. Both boys were asleep, Lee sprawled on his back and Gaara curled up on his side facing away from him. It was surprising enough that Gaara was asleep, but that he was asleep here with Lee was a bit of a shock. Temari shook her head and smiled slightly. Maybe getting Gaara to open up wouldn't take as long as she thought it would. She yawned again and wandered upstairs to sit in the kitchen, hoping that Lee could get through to Gaara eventually.

Lee stretched and blinked a few times. The room seemed darker than it usually was in the morning. Then he remembered that he wasn't in his room. He was still at Gaara's house in the spare room downstairs. Lee stretched his arms to the sides and felt his hand brush across something next to him. _"A shirt? Wait a minute…" _ Lee turned his head to look at what was next to him. He could feel himself blush slightly as he realized that Gaara was still lying next to him from last night. He figured Gaara would've gone back into his room to sleep. Well, Gaara was definitely a bit odd.

"Gaara-kun?" Lee asked quietly, shaking Gaara's shoulder gently. He waited for a moment but got no response. Lee sighed. Gaara was out cold. He hadn't slept in quite a while so it wasn't all that surprising. Lee stood up and looked around, reorienting himself, before walking to Gaara's side of the bed. Lee gently lifted Gaara of the bed and carried him into his own bedroom. "There…" He set him down on the bed and started to leave when something on the desk caught his eye. "What…?" Lee looked at the picture Gaara had been drawing. Short, messy hair, and short, smooth hair. Lee smiled slightly and glanced at Gaara before walking back out of the room.

"Oh, good morning." Temari smiled when Lee walked into the kitchen. "Want me to get you something to eat?"

"Good morning." Lee smiled and sat down at the table with her. "Um, no, I am fine. Thank you though."

"Suit yourself." She shrugged. "So, did you sleep well?" She tried not to grin, remembering what she had seen earlier.

"Yes I did. Thank you very much for letting me stay here, but I should probably be getting home soon. I do not want to worry Guy." Lee said.

"You stress too much." Temari shook her head. "Alright, but Kankuro isn't back yet so you'd have to walk home."

"That will not be a problem." Lee smiled as he stood up. "Oh, Gaara-kun is asleep in his room right now. Please tell him I said goodbye when he wakes up, Temari-san." Temari smiled as a blush spread across Lee's face.

"I will." She walked him to the door and waved as he started to run down the street. Temari's jaw dropped slightly when he was already out of sight. "Damn, he's fast." She muttered, turning back into the house.

Lee jogged up to the front door of his house and knocked on the door. "Hello, Guy!" He greeted as his foster father opened the door. "I am sorry I was gone so long."

"No worries, Lee." Guy waved the apology away. "But you do need to start your training for today. You don't want to lose everything you've worked on, do you?"

"Of course not, sir!" Lee grinned and stepped inside, quickly running upstairs to change into his shorts and a new t-shirt. He jumped the last six steps before racing out to the garage. He and Guy had never needed the garage for anything so they turned it into a training room. The walls were lined with weights, staves, and a few katana. There were no mats here, like at the dojo. The floor was cement which gave him more of a reason to perfect his techniques before sparring with Guy. A few practice dummies sat around the room, along with a couple punching bags hanging from the ceiling. This was probably Lee's favorite place to be. After being beaten by a rookie like Gaara, Lee was going to have to train even harder than before.

Gaara yawned and stretched, glancing around the room. He was back in his own room. Lee must have brought him in here at some point. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon. The house was silent, not even the sounds of a conversation reached his ears. That must mean that Lee had already left. Gaara felt a slight pang in his chest at the thought, then quickly shoved the feeling away. Lee was the only thing that stopped the pain; that was obvious. But the reason why wasn't as clear. Maybe there was a chance he could still distance himself enough to break this strange bond that had formed.

He sat down at his desk and began to work on the partial picture from the night before. Time ticked by slowly, the boy with the messy hair gained a mouth and an expression. His smile was faint, shadowed by sorrow. Then the other boy soon had a mouth also. A broad grin stretched across his face, giving away every little thing about his feelings. There was no hidden sadness or pain, just sheer joy.

Gaara stared at the drawing for a moment. It looked like… No, he couldn't be sure. He just needed to let his mind wander off again to finish the original thought. Another feature appeared on the boys faces; their eyes. Now it was obvious what his subconscious was doing. The boy with the sad smile had eyes that were half shut with dark rings around them. And the other boy… His eyes were round and honest, betraying every little feeling, just like his smile.

"Lee…" Gaara whispered.

Lee stumbled into his room and fell onto the bed. He had been training since he got home that morning and according to the clock on his computer, it was already around six o'clock at night. Lee lied there on his back for a few minutes, still panting slightly. Guy was already cooking dinner, so Lee couldn't go to sleep yet. Maybe… Lee picked up his phone and opened it.

No new messages.

Lee frowned slightly before he opened a blank text to Gaara. He stared at the screen for a few minutes, unsure of what to say.

_Hello, Gaara-kun. How are you?_

He waited and waited.

No response. He waited a few more minutes.

Still no response.

That was odd, even for Gaara. Lee set the phone down but continued to stare at it. He stood up sadly, wandering around the room for a few minutes.

"Lee! Dinner's ready!" He heard Guy call from downstairs.

"Coming!" Lee called, casting one last glance over his shoulder at the phone before running downstairs.

Gaara stared at his phone after reading the text from Lee. He had almost responded out of second nature, but stopped himself at the last moment and shut his phone. He wasn't going to reply; he needed to try and sever the bond between them. Maybe he could accomplish it by abruptly shutting Lee out of his life.

The minutes ticked by slowly as Gaara continued to stare at his phone. Six o'clock soon became seven. He couldn't explain why, but he grabbed his phone and responded to Lee's message.

_Fine. We need to talk._

Lee blinked a few times. He hadn't been expecting a response like that. To be honest he wasn't sure what to expect.

_Alright. What is it?_

_Leave me alone._

Lee froze. Out of all the strange or bizarre things Gaara could have said, he chose this. He wasn't going to string this conversation out like most people would. Lee bit his lower lip and thought.

_What is wrong?_

Gaara gritted his teeth. Why couldn't Lee just go with it and stop talking to him? Why did he have to ask questions? He gripped the sheets tightly, digging his fingers into the bed beneath them.

_You have to leave me alone. I can't let you get any closer to me than you already have. I need to get you out of my life. If I don't, you'll just hurt me like he did. Now, leave me alone._

Gaara snapped his phone shut and tossed it on his desk before lying down again. There was a long silence. He half expected the phone to start buzzing again, but it remained quiet. Soon his computer screen lit up with an instant messaging box. He grumbled under his breath and sat down in the chair to read it. Gaara paused when he saw that there was only an alert. "Your friend, Lee, wants to connect their webcam feed to your monitor." He read. "Do you accept?" He let out a sigh and searched through his cabinet for the headset. Slowly, he fit it into place and clicked 'accept'.

Another box appeared on Gaara's screen; video feed from Lee's computer. Lee was fumbling with his own headset, not realizing he was already connected.

"What do you want?" Gaara hissed when he saw Lee fix his headset. Lee jumped slightly at the harshness in Gaara's voice.

"I am sorry…" He said quietly. "I am not sure why I am sorry, but I guess I have done something wrong." He looked anywhere but the webcam.

"What part of 'leave me alone' don't you get?" Lee winced. "Get out of my life so you can't hurt me like he did." Gaara growled, shaking slightly as he did and relieved that his webcam was off. Lee suddenly froze.

"Who?" He whispered as he finally looked at the camera, and in turn, Gaara. Gaara shook harder, memories of Yashamaru flashing through his mind. He couldn't let that happen again.

"No, just…" Gaara shook his head violently. "Just leave me alone!"

"I won't do that Gaara-kun." Lee said defiantly.

"Leave me alone!" Gaara was almost yelling. He pulled the headset off and tossed it aside. Lee flinched at the noise it caused. Gaara closed the video feed, disconnecting Lee. Lee stared at the new box on his computer screen.

_"You have been disconnected."_ He thought, reading the message. _"Gaara-kun… Why?"_

Gaara shook horribly in his chair, his hands gripping the edge of the desk tightly.

"Gaara?" Temari knocked softly on his bedroom door. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, now go away." He said.

"Oh, um, ok…" Gaara sighed and watched his now blank computer screen.

_"Why, Lee? Why do you have to make it so hard?"_

Temari paced back and forth in front of the couch. "Temari, calm down." Kankuro patted her shoulder. "Why are you so stressed over it?"

"Because that was Lee he was yelling at." She let out a sigh and sat on the couch.

"So? That was two days ago. What's wrong with it? He yells at us a lot." Kankuro paused. "Scratch that, he threatens us a lot."

"What's wrong? Lee's in love with him, that's what's wrong." Temari threw her hands in the air. "He finds out and suddenly it's like Lee's trying to kill him. Maybe I should talk to him." Temari started to stand up.

"No." Kankuro held his hand out in front of her. "Don't do that, Temari."

"Why not?"

"This is Gaara's problem. I think there's something up with Gaara and he's just denying it. That's why he's pushing Lee away. He's scared. And that's something only him and Lee can solve." Temari nodded in defeat and sat back down.


	7. Chapter 7

_"Please, Gaara-kun! Give me one more chance! I need to speak to you!"_ Gaara read the message on his computer silently. His hand itched to close the box and never look at Lee's name again. But something else made him type a message in response.

_Why do you want to talk so badly? I thought I made it clear I want nothing to do with you._

_"Your friend, Lee, would like to connect their webcam feed to your monitor. Do you accept?"_ Gaara accepted and slipped on his headset.

"Just leave me alone, Lee." He growled.

"No, Gaara-kun." Lee said sternly. "Who hurt you?" His voice was barely audible now. Lee stared at the camera, wondering if Gaara was even listening to him. Then he heard something, almost like breathing, but it was sharp and ragged. "Calm down, Gaara-kun." Slowly, the breathing evened out, and Gaara began whispering into the headset.

"Yashamaru… My uncle…"

"What did he do?" Lee listened silently as Gaara explained everything; from being lied to his whole childhood, to shooting his uncle. He remained silent after Gaara had finished talking.

"Lee?" Gaara whispered faintly, trying to hear him.

"I am here, Gaara-kun. It is all right." Lee wished he was with Gaara right now. It was hard to try and comfort someone through technology. "Please… I swear I will never hurt you… In any way… Just give me a chance to prove it to you." Gaara paused.

"How?" He asked once his breathing had returned to normal. Lee thought for a second.

"Let me love you." He stated quietly. "Give me that chance and I will prove it to you. Please…?" Gaara was silent again.

_ "Maybe he isn't lying. Maybe he really means it."_ Even through the computer screen, Gaara could see the honesty in Lee's eyes. And the pain. Being pushed away was hurting Lee more than Gaara, that was obvious.

"Fine." Gaara said flatly. Lee looked confused. "Did you hear me? I said fine." He rolled his eyes at the smile that slowly spread across Lee's face.

"Thank you, Gaara-kun."

"Whatever."

"Huh?" Lee looked over his shoulder at something. "Oh, I am talking to Gaara-kun. Of course!" Suddenly, he slid his chair over and someone knelt beside him in front of the computer screen. Gaara rubbed his eyes and sighed. "No, sit back here. The camera is right there." Lee unplugged his headset so that Gaara would simply talk through the speakers.

"Hello, Guy-san." Gaara growled.

"Erm, hello." Guy looked confused.

"Um, Gaara-kun? Do you think you could connect your webcam?" Lee asked shyly.

"I'd rather not." Gaara said.

"Oh, Lee," Guy stood up, "I actually came up here to ask if you wanted to come spar with me."

"That would be wonderful! I will be down in just a moment!" He nodded to his father before turning back to the computer. "Sorry about that." He apologized nervously. "I guess I will talk to you later. Thank you again." He smiled. Gaara grumbled a reply and closed the window on his screen.

"Maybe he isn't lying… If he really does love me…" Gaara picked up the drawing of him and Lee. "Maybe," he gripped the fabric of his shirt over his heart, "he can help me get over the pain I've been suffering through for all these years…"

"I was a fool to think I could beat you in under a minute." Lee said as he finished doing pushups on the garage floor. Guy laughed slightly.

"Oh well. A little extra training won't hurt!" He grinned and stood on his hands before starting another set of his own hands-only pushups. Lee smiled and imitated him.

"G-Guy," Lee strained to talk, "I really do not think Gaara-kun would enjoy training at the dojo anymore." Guy nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, I think you're right. Martial arts don't seem to be Gaara-sans' choice field."

"Guy? Do you think I could go out with some friends tomorrow?"

"I don't see why not." Lee grinned.

Gaara yawned slightly, still sitting at his desk and staring at his computer screen. He had agreed to let Lee love him. Had that been a mistake? Well, it was too late now. It didn't matter. Things would play out however they wanted. Gaara had pretty much given up on trying to control what happened. He glanced at the clock. It was already eight o'clock. He jumped as an alert came up on the screen. Lee wanted to connect his webcam again. Gaara sighed and accepted as he slipped on his headset.

"Oh, um, Gaara-kun?" Lee asked, confused.

"It's on." Gaara said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"W-would you mind…" Lee blushed as he trailed off. Gaara rubbed his eyes before enabling his webcam and allowing it to connect to Lee's computer.

"There." He growled before yawning again.

"Gaara-kun? W-would you like to come with my friends and me tomorrow? We are probably going to just hang out in town for a while." Lee smiled slightly as he asked.

"Why?" Lee looked confused by the question.

"Um, well…" He glanced around his room, unsure of what to say. "There really is no reason." He stated. Gaara frowned slightly and sighed quietly.

"No. I don't like people, you know that. Besides, I don't really know them." Gaara continued to yawn. "Is that all you wanted to ask?"

"Um, yes that was it." Lee paused for a second. "You really should not stay up for so long. You need to get some sleep." Gaara grumbled and rubbed his eyes. Lee smiled gently. "Good night, Gaara-kun. I-I…" He hesitated. "I love you." He murmured. Gaara tensed for a moment.

"Night." He clicked his webcam off but left Lee's connected. Lee looked slightly downcast before he began fumbling with the camera. Gaara closed the screen and simply stared at the computer. He had agreed to let Lee love him, but he never agreed to love him back. That had to be made clear. Gaara yawned again and lied down on his bed. The few thoughts that had been wandering in his mind quickly vanished as sleep overtook him.

Lee paused after he shut down his webcam. Temari was definitely right. Her little brother was cold to everyone. The fact that Lee had gotten this far was incredible, but he was still so far away. Gaara was hurting, whether it showed or not. Lee's hands clenched into fists as he stood up. He would never let something like that happen to Gaara again.

"I will protect him… At any cost… Even my own life…" Lee whispered to himself. He froze for a moment before relaxing, sitting down on his bed and staring out the window. It was getting dark already. Lee sighed quietly as he changed into his pajamas and sat back down on his bed. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling for at least twenty minutes before he gave in and closed his eyes, letting sleep engulf his mind.

"Lee!" Lee stirred and looked around sleepily. His clock said it was only seven in the morning. "If you plan on going with Naruto and the others, you'd better get in some training before they show up!" Finally it registered that the voice was his foster father.

"Ah! Yes, sir!" Lee changed and sped down stairs. "I will be back in just a few, Guy!" He called, running out to the garage. Guy laughed and began cleaning the house.

Guy glanced at the clock. It was already noon, so Lee had been training for almost five hours. He smiled and walked out to the garage. "You've trained enough for now. You'd better go change."

Lee grinned. "Yes, sir!" He said before darting back into the house. Guy walked inside just in time to hear the doorbell ringing over and over. He didn't even have to look to know who was standing outside. Only one person ever did that.

"Hello, Naruto!" Guy greeted as he opened the door. Naruto smiled.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"You're the only one who keeps ringing the bell until someone opens the door." Guy shook his head slightly. "Hello, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kiba." They greeted him in unison.

"Hello, guys!" Lee jumped the last few steps as usual and walked outside with the others. "I will see you later, Guy!" He waved, following his friends to their car. Guy waved back and waited a moment before closing the door.

Gaara blinked a few times and glanced around. He picked up his phone. There were no messages or calls, and it was already ten o'clock at night. He guessed that maybe after sleeping that long, he could stay up for a few days. He wandered tiredly upstairs, pausing at the living room. His brother and sister were watching the news again.

_"A car containing five eighteen year old boys was hit a few hours ago by a drunk driver." _Gaara walked into the living room quickly and sat next to his siblings. _"We are still trying to learn the identities of the boys, but we do know that they have been rushed to the hospital. Four of the boys are said to be fine except for minor injuries. The fifth boy, who received the brunt of the impact, is said to have had his left leg and arm badly injured. More on this topic in just a moment." _Gaara froze, still staring at the television.

_"No, it couldn't be. There was no way that was…" _Gaara thought.

He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket, punching in Lee's number. His body began to shake as he listened to it ring and ring. He ignored the worried looks his siblings were giving him. Frantically, he stood up and looked around.

_"Maybe he would answer the house phone?" _He wondered in panic.

"Gaara, calm down." Temari stared at her brother. He punched in another number, listening to it ring. No answer at Lee's house either.

"Oh god…" He began shaking violently. "God, no-! No-! It can't-. He can't…" He spun around to look at his brother and sister. "Take me to the hospital. Now." He commanded. Kankuro nodded and led his brother and sister out to the car.

Temari kept casting glances over her shoulder at Gaara. He was sitting in the back seat with his knees pulled up to his chest, rocking back and forth slightly. There was a deafening silence in the car as Kankuro drove to the hospital.

"We're here." He said as Gaara was already getting out of the car. He practically ran inside. Temari and Kankuro followed more slowly. The woman at the front counter was nodding sadly to Gaara.

"Yes, room 213. You're welcome to go sit in that hall and wait for the doctor." Gaara was already gone. "Um, do you know him?" She asked Temari and Kankuro.

"Yes, he's our little brother." Kankuro nodded. "Let me guess… Rock Lee was in the accident earlier and is in room 213?" The woman nodded silently. He followed his sister to the chairs lining the waiting room. "I hope Lee's okay. For his and Gaara's sake…"


	8. Chapter 8

Gaara rushed up the stairs. He nearly ran down a few halls. He searched frantically for room 213. He froze, seeing Guy sitting near a door. His head was bowed and his eyes were shaded. The waves of stress coming from him were overpowered only by Gaara's worry and fear. Gaara sat down across the hall from him. Guy finally looked up. They briefly made eye contact. Neither said a word.

Finally, the silence was broken. A doctor walked out of Lee's room and motioned for Guy to follow them down the hall a ways. Gaara waited, still staring at the door. After a moment, the doctor left and Guy walked into Lee's room. Gaara couldn't move, even if he wanted to. He felt frozen to the floor. Ages seemed to pass before he saw Guy come back out into the hall.

"Lee…" Gaara managed to whisper. Guy looked down at the floor and heaved a sigh.

"His left leg was severely broken, and his left arm was broken in one place. They said his arm will be fine, but…" Guy paused and took a deep breath. "They said he will probably never walk again. The best we can hope for is him being able to walk with a crutch. There are also metal fragments in part of his spine. These doctors said they won't try operating on it. It's too dangerous. He'll probably have to stay on pain medication for most of his life." By now Guys eyes were blank from the pain he was feeling. Gaara began shaking again.

"But… He's alive…?" Guy nodded quickly. A slight relief filled him. "Can… I…" Guy nodded again, moving aside for Gaara to enter Lee's room. Gaara slumped down in the chair next to Lee's bed, simply staring at Lee as he slept. The left side of his body looked like patchwork with bandages everywhere and even overlapping. The right side of his body only had a few bandages here and there. Gaara reached out with a shaky hand, slowly clasping Lee's right hand.

"Please…" Gaara whispered. "Please… Don't leave me… I need you…" Gaara bowed his head. "I l-…" Gaara froze for a second before looking over his shoulder. "Hello, Guy-san…" He said quietly. Guy smiled slightly at him.

"Gaara-san… You should go home… It's late." Guy stated. Gaara shook his head slowly.

"I don't want to leave him…"

"Its fine, Gaara-san. I'm going to stay here with him. I'll call you and your siblings and let you know how he's doing. I've got Lee's phone with me if you want to call." Guy smiled. "He'll be fine. Lee's not the type to ever give up. You can count on that." Gaara looked back at Lee for a moment before nodding slowly to Guy and standing up. He reluctantly released Lee's hand and exited the room.

"Oh," Temari stood up when she saw Gaara, "How is he?"

"Call Guy-san later. He'll tell you. He's got Lee's phone for now." Gaara growled quietly and walked out to the car. His siblings hurried after him in confusion. Kankuro paused before starting the car. Temari caught a glance from him asking if something was wrong with their brother. She shook her head slightly as Kankuro started driving them home.

Gaara sat down at his desk and called Lee's cell phone. It had already been about a week since the accident. Gaara had been calling Guy at least twice a day. Lee was finally able to stay awake for a few hours now. Maybe Gaara would get lucky and he'd be up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Guy-san." Gaara said. "Is… Is Lee awake?"

"Yes, he just woke up a little while ago. He's been asking about you nonstop." Guy laughed slightly.

"Guy!" Gaara smiled when he heard Lee yelling at Guy. "I thought you were not going to mention that!" He heard Guy pass the phone to Lee. "H-Hello, Gaara-kun."

"Hey, Lee."Gaara leaned back in his chair, looking at the picture he had drawn of Lee and him which he had taped to the wall. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank you. The doctors said I can go home tomorrow!"

"How's your leg?" Lee paused.

"I can walk with a crutch now… They said I will have to use the crutch for… well, the rest of my life…" Lee sounded slightly upset. Gaara was quiet, unsure of what to say. "But," Lee sounded happier all of a sudden, "I am sure I will recover to my old self!"

"You know that won't happen." Gaara said quietly. "With all of the damage your body suffered, there's no way you'll ever make a full recovery." Lee was silent.

"There is a chance…" Lee said. "There is a doctor who just came here not long ago who would be willing to give me the surgery... Doctor Tsunade… But they said her schedule was already backed up for a quite a while… And it is too expensive for us right now…"

"Don't worry about it, Lee." Gaara heard Guy say. "We'll save up money for your surgery." Gaara sighed slightly.

"I'll talk to you later, Lee." Gaara said.

"Alright…" Lee sounded tired again. "Bye…" Gaara hung up and stared at the wall again.

"Lee…" He muttered.

Lee blinked a few times in the dim light of his hospital room. He had fallen asleep not long after he had talked to Gaara yesterday. Yesterday… Lee sat straight up, cradling the cast on his left arm. _"I am going to be released this morning!" _He thought. He looked around, spotting Guy asleep in the same chair he was in last night.

"Guy! Guy, wake up!" Lee grinned. "Guy, we can go home!" Guy jumped slightly as he woke up.

"Huh?" He looked around quickly in confusion. "Oh," Guy smiled at Lee, "morning, Lee." He stood up and stretched before helping Lee out of his bed and handing him his crutch. Lee walked back and forth across the room a few times, the tapping of his crutch echoing on the linoleum floor. "Are you ready?" Lee nodded happily. Guy and Lee started walking down the hall. Guy turned towards the elevator but Lee continued towards the stairs. Lee smiled to Guy before walking slowly down the stairs, step by step.

"Oh," the woman at the front desk looked up at the sound of Lee's crutch, "feeling better, Lee-san?"

"Yes, I feel much better." Lee smiled and paused in front of her desk with Guy. Guy chatted idly with the woman as he filled out the paper work to check Lee out of the hospital. Guy helped Lee into the car, setting his crutch across the back seat. The drive home was silent. When they pulled into the driveway, Lee wasn't really sure what to do. He waited quietly for Guy to help him out of the car and slowly walked into the house.

Nothing had changed while he was in the hospital, but everything seemed different. He made his way upstairs with an agonizingly slow pace. His room was still the same but felt odd to him. He cringed as he sat down on the edge of his bed. Sitting up for too long made his lower back start hurting. Guy knocked on the door frame before walking in.

"You might want these." He set Lee's pain medication on his desk.

"Thank you." Lee smiled as Guy walked downstairs again. He picked up his crutch and moved to his desk, sending a message to Gaara's computer.

_Hello, Gaara-kun. I am home again._

Lee waited a few minutes before grabbing his medication. By now the pain was starting to become unbearable. He reached for the bottle of water nearby and swallowed one of the pills. A message popped up on his computer screen a moment later. Gaara wanted to connect his webcam. Lee smiled and sent a request to connect his before accepting.

"Hey, Lee." Gaara smiled slightly. "How do you feel?"

"Good!" Lee winced slightly. "I am feeling much better!" Gaara watched him through the screen. "Um…" Lee blushed and looked around his room. "Gaara-kun would you like to come over sometime?" He saw Gaara's eyes light up but his expression didn't change.

"Why?" He asked quietly. Lee thought for a moment.

"I want to see you…" He paused. He saw Gaara blush faintly and frown.

"It's only noon." Gaara stated. "I'll be over in a minute."

"I-Is Kankuro-san driving you?" Lee asked, confused.

"No, I am." Gaara was putting stuff in the cabinets around his computer. "See you in a minute." The video feed from Gaara's computer cut off. Lee looked around nervously before shutting down his computer and grabbing his crutch.

"Guy!" He yelled as he walked down stairs. "Gaara-kun is coming over in a few!"

Gaara sighed slightly as he stopped the car in front of Lee's house. He wasn't entirely sure why he had agreed to come over so quickly. He hadn't thought this through, but it was too late now. He saw the door open slightly and Lee glance out. Lee grinned and pushed open the door, leaning on his crutch. He was holding his left leg up so that it barely touched the ground and the lower part of his left arm was in a bright green cast. Gaara couldn't help smiling a little at how happy Lee seemed right now as he stepped out of the car.

"Hello, Gaara-kun!" Lee called from the doorway. Gaara nodded and walked up to the house.

"Hey." He muttered, following Lee inside and into the living room.

"Guy! Gaara-kun is here!" Lee hollered as he sat down on the couch. Gaara watched him closely, seeing him wince every few minutes. "Um…" Lee looked around nervously. "There are some movies and games here if you want to…" He trailed off.

"I don't need you to entertain me." Gaara said quietly. "If you want to, we will." Lee paused for a minute before nodding slightly. He slowly pulled himself up on his crutch and walked over to the cabinets next to the television. Gaara knew better than to try and help him. Lee liked to do things on his own and that wouldn't help. Lee frowned as he looked through the movies.

"There is nothing but a couple scary movies and, well… That is pretty much it." Lee sighed. "We don't watch movies very often and all of these were from Sasuke-kun." He looked back at Gaara questioningly. Gaara just shrugged, then saw Lee wince again.

"You need to lie down. Moving around isn't good for your back." Gaara said, staring out the window. Lee was about to protest, but caught a glare from Gaara and simply nodded. Gaara stood up and watched Lee make his way back to the couch before sitting down on the floor. Lee grimaced slightly and stretched out across the couch. Gaara turned to watch him again, seeing him start to relax after a moment.

"Thanks…" Lee muttered and turned his head towards Gaara. Gaara nodded slightly but didn't look away. Lee blushed and looked around the room.

"So, what now?" Gaara asked when he saw Lee blushing again. "It's only a quarter after twelve."

"Well, there is not much to do around here besides training but I cannot do that anymore and I doubt that you want to." Lee frowned and Gaara looked around the room. He stood up for a moment and picked up the remote, turning the television on and flipping through channels.

_"Nothing, nothing, nothing… Absolutely nothing good is on."_ Gaara sighed and selected a music channel before putting the remote back. Beside the sound of the television, the room was quiet.

The time ticked by quickly and soon it was one o'clock. Gaara turned around to look at Lee. He was asleep, his chest rising and falling rhythmically as he breathed. Gaara leaned his head back against the couch and let his eyes drift shut. Soon he was asleep as well.

"Hey you two…?" Guy trailed off as he walked into the living room. Lee was asleep on the couch and Gaara was sitting in front of him asleep. Guy smiled and walked back into the kitchen.

_"They're both a little odd, but that's why they get along." _Guy thought. _"I just know it."_

Gaara slowly opened his eyes before stretching and yawning. Lee was awake but was still lying down so as not to irritate his back. "Hey." Gaara said sleepily. Lee smiled and looked around. It was already dark outside and the clock read seven.

"Do you want something to eat?" Lee asked, sitting up slowly. "Guy's cooking is… well…" Lee rubbed the back of his neck. "It is not very good sometimes." Lee felt bad for talking about Guy's cooking like that, but it was true. Gaara just shrugged and stood up. Lee winced and pulled himself up on his crutch again before leading Gaara into the kitchen. He paused, seeing a note on the table. He picked it up, reading it quietly. "Dear Lee, I had to go to the dojo. I should be home around nine tonight. Kakashi may come back with Iruka and run the dojo again. See you later. Guy."

Lee set the note down and walked to the fridge. "There is not much here, but you are welcome to look." Gaara shook his head, still watching Lee. Lee sighed, walking back into the living room and sitting on the couch. Gaara walked over to the cabinets near the television. Lee watched as he played with the buttons on the DVD player and put a disk in.

"There." He said, searching for the remotes again. Lee froze.

"'The Grudge'?" He asked quietly. Lee hated scary movies. He was always jumpy and nervous during them. Gaara just nodded and started the movie.

Gaara yawned. This was such a lame movie, but Lee seemed scared out of his wits. Gaara grinned and stretched his arm behind Lee, tapping his left shoulder gently.

"Who is there?" Lee jumped slightly to the right. Gaara snickered under his breath while Lee's head whipped around to look at him. "That was you!" He smiled slightly and pushed Gaara jokingly. Gaara was about to push back but saw the pain etched on Lee's face from moving too quickly.

"Do you need your medication?" He asked. Lee stopped and shook his head.

"No, I will be fine." Gaara sighed, stopping the movie and putting it away.

"You need to take it. Come on, where's your room?" Lee stood up on his crutch and led Gaara upstairs to his room. "Here, just take it." Gaara threw the bottle on medication at Lee. Gaara sat down on the edge of Lee's bed and waited as he took one of the pills. Lee paused before sitting next to him. Gaara sighed, rolling his head in circles to pop his neck. He stopped when he noticed Lee watching him. "What?"

"Um… I…" Lee looked around the room before looking back at Gaara questioningly. Lee wanted to ask something but seemed to be at a loss for words. He turned to face Gaara, and Gaara mimicked him. There was a long silence.

Lee bit his lower lip slightly and leaned forward to wrap his arms around Gaara's shoulders. Gaara tensed for a moment, and then tried to do the same. That was making his arm hurt though, so he let his arms drop down around Lee's waist. Lee tensed for a brief second and relaxed again. Gaara wasn't really sure what was happening, but he didn't mind. He had to admit that he kind of enjoyed this. He laid his head against Lee's right shoulder and sighed quietly. The room was silent again.


	9. Chapter 9

Slowly, Lee pulled away and Gaara reluctantly let go. He frowned slightly before noticing Lee blushing. He leaned forward again, lifting his right hand and laying it on Gaara's cheek. Gaara leaned against his hand and watched him quietly. Lee's thumb brushed the corner of Gaara's mouth gently. Gaara felt himself blush slightly.

For a moment, he didn't know what was happening. Then Lee leaned forward and pressed his lips against Gaara's. Gaara's eyes were wide in shock for a moment before they slowly drifted shut. Lee's lips were warm and soft against his own. He felt Lee start to pull away again. He wasn't letting that happen just yet. He leaned forward and pressed his lips hard against Lee's. Lee's eyes shot open.

_"Did Gaara-kun just…? Yeah, he did."_ Lee closed his eyes again, letting Gaara have his way. His left arm felt clumsy with its cast but he wrapped his arms around Gaara's shoulders once more. He felt Gaara's arms around his waist also. He pulled away enough that Gaara wouldn't have a choice but to stop. Gaara's eyes opened slightly before they closed again. He rested his head on Lee's shoulder and moved as close to him as possible. Lee heard the front door open and Guy walk in.

"Hey, Lee, I'm home!" Guy froze in the doorway of Lee's room. Lee looked up and smiled at him like everything was normal.

"Hello, Guy." He said quietly, not letting go of Gaara.

"Hello." Guy responded as he continued to stare at them. "Um… Lee?" Lee nodded and looked down at Gaara.

"Gaara-kun, it is late… You should get home before your siblings worry too much… Alright?" Lee said quietly. Gaara nodded, but made no attempt to move. "Come on…" Lee grabbed his crutch and stood up. Gaara stood up also and slowly let go of him. Guy followed them down the stairs and to the front door. "I will see you soon, Gaara-kun." Lee smiled.

"Yeah…" Gaara muttered. He stood up on his toes and kissed Lee quickly before walking out to his car. Lee blushed scarlet and waved as Gaara began driving home.

"So… What happened while I was gone?" Guy asked when they stepped back in the house.

"Um, well…" Lee started to explain everything.

"Welcome home, Gaara." Kankuro called as Gaara walked past the living room.

"So what all did you guys do?" Temari asked.

"Doesn't matter…" He muttered as he walked by.

"Come on, tell us what all happened." Kankuro demanded. Gaara sighed.

"We watched 'The Grudge', I scared the crap out of him, got his pain meds for him… Then he kissed me, Guy came home, and I kissed him again before I left. That's pretty much it." He responded plainly, walking down the stairs. Temari and Kankuro looked at each other blankly as they heard his bedroom door slam shut.

"Did he just say…?" Kankuro trailed off. Temari nodded slowly.

Gaara sat down at his desk and stared at the wall. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he thought back to just a little while ago. Then a thought returned to his mind from a past conversation with Lee. There was a surgery he could get to fix his leg and back, but it was too expensive and the waiting list was a mile long. "Doctor Tsunade…" Gaara muttered as he looked at his cell phone. He let out a sigh. There was a way to get Lee in and at the top of the list, but Gaara wasn't going to pull those strings yet. He yawned again and moved to lie on the bed. He would give it a little longer before he called in his favor.

"Hello?" Guy answered the house phone. It had been a few weeks since he had walked in and seen Gaara and Lee together. He smiled slightly to himself and shook his head. Since then, Gaara had been over every day for at least a few hours.

_"Kids." _He thought with a silent laugh.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted through the phone. "Is Bushy Brow home?"

"Yes, he's outside. I'll go get him." Guy stepped outside and looked around. Lee was lying on his back on the lawn and Gaara was lying with his head on Lee's chest. "Lee, Naruto is on the phone for you." He walked over and handed the phone to Lee.

"Hello?" Lee asked. Gaara rolled over onto his stomach and held himself up on his elbows.

"Hey, Bushy Brow!" Naruto shouted. "How're you doing?"

"Good, but if you keep yelling I might go deaf." Lee grinned. Naruto laughed.

"Hey, do you think you can get on the computer? Sasuke made a chat room for our group!"

"That sounds great!" Lee laughed. "I will be on in just a little while. Is there anything I need to do?"  
>"Nope! You'll have a notice on your screen! Talk to you in a few!" Lee heard Sasuke saying something in the background and Naruto suddenly hung up.<p>

"Well, I guess we should go in." Gaara said, pushing himself up. Lee nodded and let Gaara help him up. His arm was out of the cast, but the doctors had told him to take it easy. His leg and back were still in bad condition. Guy smiled at them as they walked by and upstairs to Lee's room. "He said there'd be a notice right?"

"Yes, he did." Lee responded, sitting down in front of the computer. Gaara knelt next to him, folding his arms and resting his chin on Lee's good leg. "Ah, there it is!" Lee smiled and clicked the accept button. A note popped up on the screen.

_Please create a screen name._

Lee was about to type but Gaara started first. "What are you…?" Lee paused.

_Welcome, Gaara&Lee._

Gaara smiled and folded his arms on Lee's leg again. "You can change it later. I'll make one when I get home." Gaara said quietly. Lee looked down at him and smiled before looking at the computer again. A sort of text box had opened and a few notices were appearing in it.

_Gaara&Lee has logged in. Ramen_Lover has logged in. Avenger has logged in._

_Ramen_Lover: Hey there, Bushy Brow! So Gaara's with you?_

_Avenger: That's a bit of a surprise._

_Gaara&Lee: Yes, he is here as well._

_Gaara&Lee: Hey, Naruto, Sasuke._

_Ramen_Lover: So what's up?_

Lee paused. "Should we tell them about us?" Lee asked Gaara. Gaara grinned slyly and started typing.

_Gaara&Lee: Well, Lee and I are dating._

Lee shot a worried glance at Gaara. "Well we are, so why not tell them?" Gaara stated plainly. Lee sighed and nodded in agreement.

_Avenger: Wow, that's definitely a surprise._

_Ramen_Lover: SERIOUSLY? HAHA!_

_Avenger: Naruto, you're an idiot._

_Ramen_Lover: You're sitting right next to me. Why are you messaging me?_

_Avenger: I don't know._

Lee rolled his eyes. Sasuke and Naruto had a habit of getting into arguments and fights over nothing. Absentmindedly, Lee rested his hand on Gaara's head as he watched the screen. Gaara smiled and let his eyes drift shut. "Gaara-kun?" Lee said quietly. Gaara grumbled and looked up at him. "I think you should be getting home. I do not like worrying your siblings." Gaara sighed and nodded. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Yeah…" Gaara stood up and kissed Lee quickly before leaving. Lee smiled and started typing.

_Gaara&Lee: Gaara just went home._

_Avenger: Oh, ok._

_Ramen_Lover: So, what's with you two?_

Gaara quickly shut himself in his room before he could be bothered by his siblings. Maybe he should… He picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Baki? It's Gaara." He sighed. "Your dead bosses' youngest son? Finally, you remembered. Listen, I need a favor."

Gaara yawned and looked around for his phone once he heard it buzzing on the bed near him. "Hello?" He asked sleepily.

"Hello, this is Doctor Tsunade." Tsunade sounded annoyed. "I came into work this morning and found that all of my patient lists had been erased and this number was on the screen. I had a feeling the Sabaku family might have something to do with this."

"Yeah, I called in a little favor. You know my family has ties with almost every large corporation. That means your hospital as well." Gaara rubbed his eyes.

"Yes, your family is so rich, you've got your hands in everything around Suna and Konoha." She hissed. "And nothing changed when your father died. So what the hell do you want?" Tsunade growled.

"I need you to call someone and discuss a surgery with them. They were in an accident a few weeks ago. His arm has healed, but his leg and spine are screwed." Gaara stretched. "His leg was so severely broken they say it will never fully heal, and there are metal fragments embedded in the lower part of his spine. Do you think you could fix it?"

"Seeing how you are part of the Sabaku family, I don't really have a choice. Fine, give me the contact information and I'll see if he'll go through with it." She laughed slightly. "It won't be cheap though. Do you think he can afford it?"

"I'll cover it." Gaara hissed into the phone. "You just do your job."

Guy looked up at Lee as he walked into the kitchen, his crutch tapping on the linoleum. "Morning, Lee. Did you sleep well?"

"Morning, Guy. Yes, I did. Thank you." Lee smiled as he searched the cabinets for the cereal. Suddenly, the phone rang. "I will get it." Lee said as he picked up the phone. "Hello?" There was a pause. "Doctor Tsunade? This is Rock Lee." He looked at Guy in confusion. "Surgery for my leg and back? I-I, um…" Guy left the room silently.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair at her desk and waited a moment. "I'm supposed to discuss the, well, risks of this surgery with you."

Guy opened the door. "Hello, Gaara-san. You're here earlier than usual." Gaara nodded in greeting.

"Is Lee up?" He asked, following Guy inside the house.

"He's on the phone with Doctor Tsunade." Guy seemed puzzled. "I'm not sure why she is calling, but apparently it's about the surgery." Gaara sighed quietly.

"I'll be outside." He muttered. Guy nodded and stood just outside the kitchen. Gaara sat down in the middle of the lawn and looked up. The sky was gray and cloudy, and there was a chill in the air. It was only September but fall was coming faster than usual. That was just another way Konoha was different from Suna. In Suna, you were lucky to have any season besides summer. Gaara lied back and let his eyes drift shut as he waited for Lee.

Time slowly ticked by and a faint rain was falling. Gaara made no attempt to move, relishing the feel of the cold droplets on his face.

"Gaara-kun?" A voice called from a little ways off. Gaara's eyes blinked open and he sat up to see Lee standing near the door on the small covered porch. Gaara stood up and slowly walked across the lawn. Lee winced as he sat down on a small bench swing anchored to the roof over the porch. Gaara watched him worriedly as he sat down next to him. "I spoke with Doctor Tsunade…" Lee said quietly, looking down at his hands in his lap. Gaara nodded. "I am not sure… If I should go through with the surgery… She said I had a week to make up my mind… But…" Lee spoke nervously.

"…But what?" Gaara asked. Lee took a deep breath.

"She said there was only a fifty percent chance I would survive the surgery…" His eyes were clouded over with pain, but not from his injuries. "I am not sure if I can do it…" Gaara swung his feet up onto the swing and leaned against Lee.

"If you don't… You'll never be able to do anything, really. If you do… There's a good chance you'll die." Gaara sounded emotionless. The sound of the rain hitting the roof was slowly growing louder, but the silence between the boys grew deeper. Gaara stared out across the lawn until he heard Lee drawing in a ragged, choked breath. "Lee…?" He turned to look at him. Lee's head was bowed and his hands clenched into fists as he cried slightly, tears falling on the backs on his fists.

"I do not want to hurt you…" He said quietly. "I do not want to go through with the surgery if it means I could hurt you…" Gaara just watched him, unsure of what to do.

"It's not like you have to decide right now." Gaara growled as his temper flared up briefly. "Just think about it. You've got a week." Gaara turned and stared out at the lawn again. Lee held back his tears and nodded as he tried to calm down.

"I know…" Lee said. "But I want to go back to how I was as soon as possible… I cannot do that unless I go through with the surgery…"

"I think you should…" Gaara murmured. "You're not the same anymore…" Gaara paused, and then forced himself to continue. "I don't want to lose you but… I know you can't be happy like this…"

"You are right, Gaara-kun… I hate this…" Lee forced back a sob. "I am almost positive I will get the surgery… I wanted it even when I knew it was not being offered… And even now, knowing the odds… I want this…" He looked down at the ground. "Well," Lee said once he regained his composure, "it is still early. What do you want to do?" Gaara sat quietly for a moment.

"Nothing…" He murmured, leaning against Lee again. "I just want to sit here and watch the rain…" Lee smiled slightly and stared out at the lawn.


	10. Chapter 10

Guy glanced out the window and smiled, seeing Gaara leaning against Lee on the porch swing. Gaara had been coming over every day and almost never leaving Lee's side. Lee was always so happy when he heard the doorbell ring in the morning and forced himself to ignore the pain as much as he could when he was with Gaara. It was like Lee was more scared of hurting Gaara than himself. Guy jumped slightly when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted through the phone. "Is Bushy Brow home?"

"Yes, he is." Guy looked out the window again. "But he's busy right now. I'll let him know you called."

"Oh, alright!" Naruto yelled. "Later!" Guy shook his head as Naruto hung up.

"Gaara-kun?" Lee asked.

"What?"

"I…" Lee paused. "I will get the surgery…" Lee said quietly. Gaara sat silently for a moment.

"Alright…" He muttered. "You should call now then… She's probably starting to fill up her patient lists…" Lee sighed and nodded. "Come on…" Gaara stood up and held out a hand. Lee smiled and took his hand, letting Gaara help him up before grabbing his crutch.

"Hello you two." Guy said as the boys walked in.

"Guy, I am getting the surgery." Lee said confidently. Guy looked worried for a moment, and then smiled. Lee smiled back and grabbed the phone, redialing the number for the hospital. "Hello, Doctor Tsunade? It is Rock Lee." He waited a moment. "Yes, I have already made up my mind." Gaara watched him silently. "Oh, tomorrow? Yes, that will work." Guy nodded. "Eight in the morning? Alright." Lee rubbed his eyes. "Thank you." Lee hung up and looked at Guy. Guy smiled again.

"I know the chances aren't good," Guy said, "but you'll make it." Lee grinned broadly.

"Yes, sir!" Gaara watched him closely before tapping his hand. Lee looked up at him in confusion. Gaara grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs and into Lee's room. Gaara sighed quietly and sat down on the edge of the bed. Lee sat down next to him and glanced at him sadly. "Is something wrong, Gaara?"

Gaara shook his head. "No… I just like it up here more… It's quieter…" Lee nodded slowly before a deep silence settled on the room again. The time ticked by quickly and soon the early morning had faded into afternoon. Lee took one of his pain pills and all was quiet again. Guy never bothered to come upstairs, but instead left the boys in silence. More time passed and it was already becoming night. Lee sighed and took another pill.

He paused for a few moments. "I am scared…" Lee said as he stared at his hands. "I am scared, Gaara-kun…" He started to shake. Gaara watched him silently, thinking about what he should do. Lee turned and hugged him tightly, pressing his face against Gaara's shoulder. He froze for a moment before hugging Lee back. Gaara remained silent, knowing that anything he would say would only make things worse.

Lee finally let go of Gaara and rubbed his eyes. "You need to sleep…" Gaara muttered. He could tell that the pain medication was making Lee tired. Lee nodded and lied down on the bed.

"Gaara-kun…?" He asked quietly. "Will you… stay with me tonight?" Gaara paused.

"Yeah, I will…" He smiled faintly and sat down next to Lee, who smiled and closed his eyes. Gaara sighed and held Lee's hand, realizing that he was soon asleep. "Only you…" Gaara mumbled. "Could ask everything from me without thinking twice… And have me say yes…"

"Lee! Gaara-san!" Guy shouted as he walked up the stairs. "Get up! We've got to leave soon!" He knocked on the door as he walked in. "Come on, wake up you two!" Lee groaned in protest and rubbed his eyes. Gaara started to wake up, rolling his head from side to side.

_"Sleeping while sitting up probably wasn't a very good idea."_ He thought.

"We've got to go in just a few minutes." Guy said.

"Alright, alright…" Gaara hissed, rubbing his neck. Lee sat up, wincing slightly before slowly standing up with his crutch. Gaara looked at him nervously for a moment and shook his head slightly.

_"The chances aren't good… What if Lee doesn't make it? What if this surgery kills him? There is only a fifty percent chance it would work."_ He worried. Gaara waited until Guy left the room.

"Lee…?"

"Huh? Yes, Gaara-kun?" Lee was walking towards the door, but stopped and turned around. Gaara fell silent, unable to say what he was thinking. Lee paused before saying, "Gaara-kun, I know these are not very good odds… But I will make it. I am sure of it." Lee grinned broadly. "That is a promise." Gaara stood up slowly.

"How can you be so sure…?" He whispered. "How can you make a promise like that… When there's a good chance you'll break it…?" Gaara wanted to believe Lee. He wanted to just be able to shrug off all of the doubt. He wanted to know that Lee would be alright.

"I am positive. I have never felt this sure." Lee said, smiling. "Do not worry, Gaara-kun. I will be fine." Lee stepped forward and wrapped one arm awkwardly around Gaara's shoulders, holding himself up on his crutch with the other. Gaara laid his hands on Lee's shoulders and sighed quietly.

"Alright…" Gaara muttered. "Come on, let's go." Lee nodded and followed Gaara down the stairs. The boys were silent as they climbed into the back seat of the car and stayed that way as Guy drove them to the hospital. Gaara was the first out of the car, walking around to the other door and helping Lee out. Guy watched silently and led them into the hospital.

"Good morning." The woman at the front desk said. "Oh, hello Lee-san. Are you here for the surgery?"

"Yes, I am." Lee smiled. The woman nodded and picked up the phone.

"Hello, this is the front desk. Yes, Rock Lee is here for his surgery. Yes, thank you." She smiled. "One of the nurses will be out in just a minute to get you, okay?"

"Okay!" Lee smiled again and glanced at Gaara, who was shifting back and forth nervously. "Gaara-kun…?" Lee said quietly. "Calm down… It will be alright…" Gaara forced himself to nod. Soon a nurse came from down a hall.

"Rock Lee?" She asked. Lee turned and nodded to her. "Alright, we'll just head back when you're ready." Lee looked back at Gaara sadly. Guy looked at them for a moment.

"I will be alright, Guy." Lee grinned. "I will see you when I wake up." He stepped forward and hugged Guy tightly. "Gaara-kun…" Lee hugged him gently and sighed quietly. "I will see you soon…" Gaara nodded quickly. "I love you." Gaara paused.

"I love you too…" Gaara whispered. Lee reluctantly let go and followed the nurse down the hall. Guy watched Lee and then turned to sit down. Gaara sat down a few chairs away.

"Don't worry, Gaara-san." Guy said. "The odds have never really been in Lee's favor." Gaara glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "He was moved from foster home to foster home until he was five and I adopted him. All his years in school, he was told he had no talent, nothing special. He was just a hardworking grunt." Guy smiled. "Even so, he passed any test or subject they threw at him. Maybe not with perfect scores, but he always did his best. He may not have natural talent, but he's got perseverance. He'll pull through." Gaara nodded slightly.

"Guy…?" Gaara asked quietly. "Do you have Lee's cell phone?"Guy nodded. "Can I borrow it?" Guy nodded again and handed Lee's cell phone to Gaara. He smiled for a split second in thanks and walked outside, dialing a number from the contact list.

"Hello?" Sasuke answered the phone.

"Hey it's Gaara. Listen, Lee's in for his surgery right now."

"What?" Gaara jerked the phone away from his ear as Naruto began yelling. "What surgery?"

"He's getting surgery on his leg and back." Gaara said, still holding the phone about a foot away. "There's only a fifty percent chance he'll make it."

"Damn it, Bushy Brow!" Naruto shouted. "Sasuke, let's go!"

"Alright." Sasuke sounded faintly worried. "We're on our way." Gaara sighed and hung up, looking for more numbers he should call.

"Hello?" Shikamaru asked lazily. Gaara told him about Lee's surgery. "I'll go pick up Kiba." Shikamaru said before hanging up, leaving Gaara to call a few more people. He had soon called Choji, Neji, Shino, and Tenten, whoever they were. They were all listed as friends so it made sense. He had explained who he was and told them all about the surgery; all of them were on their way. Gaara sat down on the curb, shivering and pulling his knees up to his chest. He looked up at the gray, overcast sky as he felt a faint breeze carrying a sad chill. Soon, a car pulled into the parking lot. Naruto jumped out and ran up to Gaara. "How's Bushy Brow? Where is he? Is he ok?" Sasuke came up and smacked the back of Naruto's head hard before sitting down on the curb next to Gaara.

"Naruto, shut up." Sasuke said quietly. "Gaara-san has got more reasons to be worried than you do and you're just stressing him out." Gaara nodded his thanks to Sasuke as another car parked near Sasuke's. Shikamaru and Kiba stepped out and sat on the curb with the others.

"Are you ok, Gaara-san?" Kiba asked worriedly. Gaara nodded quickly, staring at the pavement in front of him. Soon, three more cars pulled into the parking lot. "Hey, it looks like introductions may be in order again." Kiba said. "You three, this is Gaara-san." Gaara continued to stare at the ground. Naruto nudged him with his elbow, getting him to look up.

"I'm Choji." The first boy said. He was larger than the others, but about as tall as Gaara and Naruto, with brown hair and spiral-like marks on his cheeks.

"I'm Shino." The second boy had short brown hair that almost looked black. The collar of his jacket covered the lower half of his face and his eyes were hidden behind round dark-lens glasses. He sat down next to Kiba and Choji sat down next to Shikamaru.

"My name is Neji Hyuuga." The last boy said. He had brown hair that came down to his waist and was held together at the bottom with a black hair tie. His eyes were grey, like the eyes of a blind person, but he seemed to be able to see just fine. Gaara nodded and Neji sat down at one end of the line of boys on the curb. They sat in silence until one last car pulled up.

"That's Tenten." Naruto said as the girl stepped out of her car. She too had brown hair, but it was pulled up into two buns towards the sides of her head. Gaara blinked rapidly, feeling her grief hit him like a tidal wave. "Oh, boy..." Naruto mumbled. He must have felt it too. Tenten paused in front of the group and knelt down in front Gaara, looking him in the eye. Her emotions were stronger than anyone else's on the curb. He saw tears well up in her eyes and she reached out to hug him. "Tenten…" Naruto whispered. "He doesn't like people being near him. Don't push it." She glanced at Naruto, then Gaara before nodding.

"Sorry…" She said softly. "This must be hard for you most of all… But nothing like this has ever happened before for us…" Gaara watched her in confusion.

"Why are you so upset?" He asked flatly. Tenten sat cross-legged on the pavement in front of him.

"Well, Neji and I have known Lee since elementary school." She started and Neji nodded. "He was definitely strange but he was a great kid, and that hasn't changed. The rest of this group met him in middle school. Plus, without Lee, high school gym would have been a terror." Gaara's head tilted to the side slightly. "His dad, Guy, was the teacher. Lee was able to keep up with him and was so energetic that we didn't have to run a few miles every single day before class; he was able to wear Guy down to the point of teaching a normal class." She smiled. "We're all pretty grateful to him. He's the kind of person that will be there for you even if you don't want him to be, and it's always better in the long run." Gaara smiled slightly for a moment. That sounded like Lee, alright. Tenten sighed quietly and moved to sit next to Neji.

"Do Temari and Kankuro know about the surgery?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, they don't. And the car is at Lee's house." Gaara paused. "How do you know my brother and sister?" Shikamaru shrugged and grabbed his cell phone.

"Explaining is a drag. Maybe later." He said. "Hello, Temari? Yeah, listen I need to tell you something. Lee's in for surgery on his leg and back. He's only got a fifty percent chance of making it. Yeah, I'll be over in a minute." Shikamaru hung up and stretched. "I'm going to go pick up your brother and sister. I'll be back in a minute." There was a murmured response from the whole group as Shikamaru left.

"What time is it?" Choji asked.

"About eight o'clock." Sasuke responded. Choji nodded slowly and was silent again. Gaara went back to staring at the pavement. "A surgery like this is going to take most of the day." The wait was like torture for Gaara. Every minute that ticked by made him wonder if Lee was even still alive. He didn't even respond when Shikamaru came back with his siblings.

"Is there anything we can do?" Temari asked nervously. Neji looked down and shook his head.

"All we can do is wait."

Gaara sat in a haze on the curb as life seemed to move in fast forward around him. He hardly moved as people in the group left, came back, and left again. He couldn't think of anything except Lee. Naruto tried to talk to him a few times, but Gaara never responded. Eventually he gave up and sat quietly for a while. Seconds faded into minutes, and minutes faded into hours. Gaara's eye lids were heavy and he started to sway back and forth.

"Huh? Gaara?" Naruto asked. That was the last thing he heard before everything went black.


	11. Chapter 11

Gibson 4

_"Lee…"_ He thought. _"Don't leave me… Please…"_

Gaara felt himself wake up but refused to open his eyes. He was tired, his stomach was growling like a wild animal, and his forehead hurt.

"Hey, Gaara?" He heard his brother ask. Finally he decided to look around. Blinking rapidly, he noticed he was inside the hospital lying on a cheap reclining chair. The group of Lee's friends sat around it, smiling when Gaara sat up.

"What happened…?" Gaara asked quietly.

"Well," Sasuke started, "you fell asleep or something and slammed your face on the ground. More so your forehead, but whatever. You must've been really tired and a really heavy sleeper." Gaara rubbed his forehead and winced. That made sense at least. "So we brought you in here and the nurses said you could sleep in the chair. You've been out for quite a while."

"What time is it…?"

"It's about seven." Tenten said. Gaara paused. That meant eleven hours had passed since Lee went in for his surgery. He slid from the chair and practically ran over to Guy.

"Has there been any word on Lee?" He asked quietly. Guy stared at him for a moment before he smiled gently.

"It was a success, but he's recovering right now. We should be able to see him soon." Guy said. Gaara smiled, his legs trembling.

"That's good…" He said, slumping into the chair next to Guy.

"He's going to have to go through rehabilitation, though." Guy said thoughtfully. "Will you help him?"

"Yes." Gaara said without hesitation. Guy smiled again.

"That's good to hear, too." Guy nodded. Gaara's stomach growled loudly and Guy stifled a laugh. "When's the last time you ate?" Gaara thought for a second.

"The day before yesterday." Guy shook his head and searched his pockets.

"Here," he handed Gaara ten dollars, "there's a little cafeteria down that hall. Go get some food." Gaara nodded thankfully and left for the hall. "What a kid…" Guy glanced down the hall. Soon a nurse approached him.

"Might Guy?" He asked.

"Yes?" Guy stood up.

"Your son is stable, but he's still unconscious from the sedatives. I need to discuss the rehabilitation with you."

"Wait just a minute." Guy said. "There's someone else who needs to hear this too." The nurse nodded and walked to the front desk to talk to the woman there. The room was quiet for a few minutes. "Ah," Guy smiled, "there you are." Gaara looked up at him with half a sandwich hanging from his mouth. "We were going to discuss Lee's rehabilitation." Gaara nodded and followed Guy, eating his sandwich as he went. The nurse led them down a hall and into an elevator.

"Lee will need to stay in bed for about two weeks to start with. That will probably be here in the hospital. After that he'll need to start walking for very short periods of time before lying down again. Someone will have to help him with his balance at first. He should continue that for a month or so. As time progresses he can begin walking more and more. Once he has regained a good portion of his balance and mobility, you can let him walk on his own. Just keep an eye on him." The nurse led them down another hall. "It should take about six months at least. At most, maybe a year." Gaara swallowed hard and nodded along with Guy. Lee wasn't the kind to wait. He would be pushing it too far and trying to walk more than he should. Knowing Lee, he would try to start walking while he was still here in the hospital. "You're welcome to go in to see him, but he's still unconscious."

"Thank you." Guy said. The nurse bowed politely and left them at the door to Lee's room. "Gaara-san, why don't you go tell the others. I'll go in for a few and then they can all take turns. You can stay here with him as long as you want after that." Gaara nodded his thanks and walked quickly downstairs.

"Hey, Gaara-san, where'd you go?" Tenten asked. Everyone in the group turned to look at him. Temari and Kankuro grinned at each other when they saw a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Lee's alright…" He said quietly. The air seemed to lighten around them. Tenten began crying and laughing at the same time and hugged Neji. Kiba and Choji smiled at each other. Temari grabbed Shikamaru and hugged him tightly. Naruto actually knocked Sasuke over, practically jumping on him to hug him. Shino nodded slightly and Kankuro just kept grinning. "He's still unconscious but I'm supposed to come get you guys to go see him for a minute…"

"Bushy Brow's alright!" Naruto had finally let go of Sasuke and was jumping up and down. "Let's go!" Gaara turned around, leading the group up the stairs. Gaara sat down on the floor outside Lee's door and the others lined up along the hall.

"Oh," Guy stepped out of the room, "hello." He nodded and the group slowly filed into the room. Gaara waited a moment and walked in also. The room was silent except the beeping from the machines Lee was hooked to. About twenty minutes passed as Gaara sat in the corner of the room in a small chair he found.

"Gaara-san…?" Temari asked. He didn't respond. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and smirked.

"Come on." They said in unison, walking up to him. They grabbed the chair by the bottom on each side and picked it up.

"W-what are you doing?" Gaara hissed, gripping the arms of the chair as the boys set it down right next to Lee's bed.

"We're leaving, that's what." Naruto grinned. Sasuke motioned for the group to start leaving. They all nodded and smiled at Gaara. Gaara paused before he tugged on Naruto's sleeve.

"Thank you, Naruto-san…" He whispered. Naruto waved the thanks away with his hand.

"Don't mention it. And drop the honorific, ok?" He laughed slightly. "You should get some sleep before he wakes up." Gaara nodded slightly as Naruto left.

"Gaara-san," Guy glanced through the doorway, "I've got Lee's cell phone. Stay as long as you want. If you need anything, just call me." Gaara nodded thankfully and watched Guy leave. Silence settled over the room again and Gaara yawned, letting sleep overtake him.

"Ah…" Lee blinked a few times and glanced around. That's right; he must've just woken up from the sedatives they gave him. Then the surgery was a success. He grinned broadly noticing Gaara sitting in a chair next to the bed. "He is asleep…" He paused as Gaara stirred and then shut his eyes again, pretending to be asleep. Gaara rubbed his neck and glanced at Lee for a minute.

"Lee…" He murmured. "I love you… I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you… I don't know if I could go on… I need you… More than you'll ever know…" He stopped for a moment. "What am I doing…? You can't even hear me…"

"I have heard more than you think. Gaara-kun." Lee said quietly. Gaara jumped slightly and stared at Lee.

"You heard that…?" He asked. Lee smiled and nodded. "Oh…" Lee laughed quietly as Gaara's cheeks tinged pink. "Will you drop the '-kun'? You don't have to use it." Lee nodded, smiling.

"I am glad you stayed here with me. So," he paused, "when can I start training again?"

"Training? You're going to rest, that's it for now." Gaara continued to rub his neck. Lee watched Gaara defiantly. "You're not supposed to try walking for two more weeks."

"One week." Lee stated. "I'll be walking in one week." Gaara watched him for a moment and then sighed.

"I suppose there's no point in trying to reason with you." Lee smiled happily. Gaara felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. "You're so stubborn." Lee laughed.

"And you are not?" Gaara glared at him for a second.

"I'm glad you're okay…" He reached out and gripped Lee's hand. Lee blushed slightly and pulled Gaara closer.

"I love you, Gaara…" Lee kissed his cheek gently. Gaara smiled slightly and kissed Lee's forehead.

"I love you too, Lee…"


End file.
